By Rick Nunno, Volunteer
It’s hard to believe, but we’re already about nine weeks into the 2019 Oregon legislative session. The Oregon Sierra Club is tracking some 90 bills introduced this session, and in some cases actually moving them in the direction that we prefer! We support about half of these bills, and oppose some, and haven’t taken a position on many of them as we continue to research them.
The Clean Energy Jobs bill (HB 2020), which will put a price on greenhouse gas emissions using a “cap, trade, and invest” model while fostering a clean energy economy, continues to be the Chapter’s top legislative priority. We are working to limit giveaways in the bill to the largest corporate polluters and ensure equitable reinvestments to vulnerable communities already affected by climate change in Oregon. The bill is expected to be passed by the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction and pass both chambers of the legislature within the next few weeks. The hope is to have it signed by Governor Brown on April 22 (Earth Day). We are attempting to influence legislators to strengthen the bill by reducing greenhouse gas emissions more quickly than current targets, reducing allowances to “emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries”, and several other measures. We are of course also fighting against attempts by other groups to weaken the bill.
Another important set of bills we are strongly supporting would implement stronger regulations for oil trains coming through Oregon. Our coalition’s model bills (SB 99 and HB 2858) would help railside communities by regulating and improving emergency response to future oil train spills/explosions. The 2016 explosion in Mosier made the dangers of oil trains astoundingly clear, but every day more and more oil trains make their way along the Columbia River and to the coast for exportation overseas. Oregon has the weakest oil-by-rail laws on the West Coast, and SB 99 and HB 2858 would bring Oregon’s laws up to the other two states. It would also hold oil transporters accountable for making their trains as safe as possible. Some provisions in these two bills are expected to be incorporated into another bill (HB 2209) and we hope it will move through both chambers quickly.
A third legislative area concerns diesel fuel. While businesses must meet state safety regulations for diesel cars and trucks made after 2007, older diesel vehicles will be able to continue polluting our air and water with toxins that would not be permitted under today’s standards. HB 2007 will help businesses transition their fleets to cleaner fuel sources, and allow for the creation of stricter idling laws to reduce pollution even further. We might need to mobilize some voices to prevent this bill from being weakened as it moves through the legislative process.
A fourth bill, HB 2623, will impose a moratorium on all hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” for oil and gas in Oregon. Fracking has been shown to have disastrous impacts in other states on surface water, groundwater, and public health. With our lobbying efforts, we can prevent such devastation from coming to Oregon. The bill recently passed the House and is now headed to the Senate.
Another priority has been passing SB 256, which would ban oil, gas, and sulfur leasing in Oregon’s territorial sea. Our spectacular coast, treasured by all Oregonians, with its amazing wildlife, and healthy tourism and fishing industries, would be jeopardized by offshore oil and gas drilling. Legislators recognized that we cannot put all of that at risk, and the bill has passed both chambers with wide, bipartisan margins. It is now headed to the Governor for her signature.
A sixth legislative focus (SB 853 and HB 3058) would ban one pesticide and restrict the use of others. Neonicotinoids are a particularly potent family of pesticides whose use is detrimental to bees and other pollinators. In 2018, the European Union banned neonicotinoids in order to prevent bee populations from collapsing. Here in Oregon, we hope to limit and regulate their use. This legislation will take neonicotinoids off regular market shelves and require industrial buyers to pay a fee, get a license, and take a class on safe pesticide usage before buying. The bill would also include a ban on another pesticide, Chlorpyrifos, which is extremely dangerous to the farmworkers who are exposed to it.
Finally, we’re supporting Governor Brown’s effort in HB 2250 to push back against the Trump Administration’s attempts to gut our national environmental laws and roll back our climate protections. This legislation will require Oregon’s environmental agencies to determine whether federal rollbacks will result in less protection for or public health, environment, or natural resources than was in place when Trump took office. If so, then we’ll hold the line and keep those pre-Trump protections in place. We hope this bill can pass both chambers and be signed into law this session.
To learn more about these and other legislative activity that we are working on, you can subscribe to our Legislative Action Team and join us at upcoming Action Nights. We think you’ll find it exciting and rewarding to get involved in our collective work to ensure a better future for ourselves, our descendants, and our planet.