SALEM (AP) — The Oregon Senate has approved a bill to set up a kitty for affordable housing, using money from an increase in recording fees for real estate documents.

The bill increases the $11 fee to $26. It would raise $15 million during the 2009-11 biennium and $26 million for the following two-year period.

As the bill passed Thursday, the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department announced it had been awarded a $5 million grant from the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation to help with low-income housing.

At a news conference, Sen. Betsy Johnson, a Scappoose Democrat, said it was a “great day for affordable housing.”

She says the bill and grant will help to create jobs and secure housing for families.