Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Oregon House of Representatives easily passed a bill Monday aimed at keeping banks from neglecting properties they’ve foreclosed upon.

Majority Democrats argued that banks would be more motivated to clean up foreclosed houses, if letting them go to pot could bring fines up to $150 a day.

Portland-area representative Lew Frederick said the bill is meant to help neighborhoods hit hardest by the foreclosure problem.

Lew Frederick: “Not only does it impact just the visual situation, it impacts the financial status of those families that have placed their life savings in those properties and now find their property values going down, and continuing to diminish.”

Enforcing the bill would be up to local governments. The bill would allow banks 30 days to fix up a property before being fined, and they could have a local hearing to fight the fines.

Some Republican lawmakers questioned the untold cost to businesses of the fines – especially to locally-owned community banks.

The bill next heads to the Senate.