As the 2019 legislative session moves closer to its conclusion, pressure is mounting to pass the bills identified as critical by the Governor and legislative leadership. The Oregon Sierra Club has made some progress this session, but we’re still awaiting finality on most of our top priorities. We cannot let up now in our efforts to pass legislation to protect our wild places, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and achieve an equitable future for all.
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. The bill is on a somewhat delayed timeline now, but we are still 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 Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction continues to assess amendment recommendations, but is expected to make its decisions on the final language for the bill soon. It will likely then go to the Ways and Means Committee before entering the House floor. Despite the delays, the Governor, President Courtney, and Speaker Kotek are still committed to passing HB 2020. We continue to urge legislators to strengthen the bill by lowering greenhouse gas emissions quicker than current targets and reducing industry allowances. Continue to contact your legislators to make the Clean Energy Jobs bill as strong as possible!
Another one of our top priorities is to implement stronger regulations for oil trains coming through Oregon. Oregon has the weakest oil-by-rail laws on the West Coast. Several bills to address this issue were considered, but now our focus is on HB 2209, which recently passed out of committee. While HB 2209 does not have everything we need in it, we support it in its current form as it is a substantial step forward in catching Oregon up to California and Washington in planning for and responding to inevitable future oil train derailments, spills, and fires. HB 2209 would require state approved oil spill cleanup plans, financial responsibility of the railroads for spills, and fees assessed to the railroads for oil spill cleanup plans. Call your legislators to ensure this bill passes swiftly through the House and the Senate.
Legislators still need to hear from constituents about HB 2007, the “Diesel Bill.” While businesses must meet state safety regulations for diesel cars and trucks made after 2007, older diesel vehicles continue polluting our air and water with toxins that should 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. HB 2007 is in the House Rules Committee awaiting further revision. Click here to send a comment to the Rules Committee to strengthen and pass the diesel 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, ground water, and public health. The bill passed the House and is now in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Call your senators to ensure that it passes that chamber too!
On Thursday, April 18, we hosted an Action Night on HB 2015, the Equal Access to Roads Act. HB 2015, which would allow full access to driver’s licenses without requiring proof of citizenship or legal residence. This would lift barriers for people who are undocumented, those who are houseless, and even those who have lost documents due to personal tragedy. The Sierra Club is working on this bill because we strongly believe that all people must be treated with dignity and respect regardless of where they were born. We believe we must address climate pollution in transportation not through bigoted policy, but by supporting a healthy, low carbon system. In our Driver’s Licenses for All campaign, we explain how climate change exacerbates the need for immigration so that people can find work and food. We encourage you to contact your legislators to pass HB 2015 today!
Finally, we continue to support Governor Brown’s efforts on HB 2250, the Environmental Protection Act, 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 public health, the 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. HB 2250 has already passed through the House and now waits to be voted on in the Senate. A hearing is scheduled on the bill in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee this week. Call your senators now to ensure its swift passage!
To learn more about these and other legislative activities 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.
