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Climate Emergency

Legislative Report - Week of 3/24

Climate Emergency Team

 

Coordinator: Claudia Keith​

  • Efficient and Resilient Buildings: Bill Glassmire

  • Environmental Justice: Nancy Rosenberger

  • Environmental Rights Amendment: Claudia Keith

  • Natural Climate Solution - Forestry: Josie Koehne

  • CEI - Critical Energy Infrastructure : Nikki Mandell and Laura Rogers

  • Community Resilince & Emergency Management: Rebecca Gladstone 

  • Transportation: Claudia Keith

  • Joint Ways and Means - Budgets, Lawsuits, Green/Public Banking,

  • Divestment/ESG: Claudia Keith

  • Find additional Climate Change Advocacy volunteers in Natural Resources

Please see Climate Emergency Overview here.

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This week we added another Environmental Justice bill: 

  • SB 54: Work Session 3/31. The bill requires landlords provide cooling for residential units. The League endorsed and added our name to a OJTA Oregon Justice Transition Alliance, sign-on letter.

  • HB2548: establishes an agriculture workforce labor standards board,  League Testimony. Work Session is 4/2.


Climate Priority Advocacy Groups


For the first time, this year most of our priorities are included in the bipartisan 2025 Legislative Environmental Caucus Priorities,  Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Priorities and/or Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) priorities. OCN is the only formal environmental lobby coalition group in the capitol. 


Consequently, for some of these bills (especially those in a package) the League may just join coalition sign-on letters rather than providing individual testimony.


Climate Priorities with League Testimony with League Endorsement and Still Alive



Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package


The following four bills are part of a package which was the subject of public hearings February 27 and March 6 in the House Energy Management, General Government, and Veterans Committee:


Energy Affordability and Utility Accountability Package


  • HB 3081  (League testimony) work session 3/27, creates an active navigator to help access energy efficiency incentives all in one place

  • SB 88 (League testimony) work session 3/24,  limits the ability of utility companies to charge ratepayers for lobbying, litigation costs, fines, marketing, industry fees, and political spending. 


In addition to our testimony, LWVOR joined the Oregon Conservation Network, coordinated through the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, in sign-on letters supporting both HB 3081 and SB 88.  PH  3 / 4 


Climate Treasury Investment Bills


  • SB 681: Treasury: Fossil Fuel investment moratorium, Senate Finance and Revenue, PH 3/19. testimony. Sen Golden.

  • HB 2200 requested by Treasury Sec Tobias ESG investing, identified as the compromise bill. League – NO Comment, PH was 3/13 and work session 3/27.


Natural and Working Lands



Other Priorities 



Priority Bills that died in policy committee


Some of these related to funding may appear in the end of session reconciliation (Xmas tree) bill. 



Climate Emergency JWM Budget Concerns


In order to stay on track, the Legislature must prioritize investments for vital environmental justice, climate and community protection programs (CPP). Without additional appropriations this session, the following existing successful climate, CPP and environmental justice programs may run out of funding: 


  • Community Renewable Energy Grant Program (ODOE)


  • Rental Home Heat Pump Program (ODOE)


  • Community Heat Pump Program (ODOE)


  • Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program/Charge Ahead (DEQ)


  • Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Rebates + Infrastructure Grants (DEQ)


  • Community Resilience Hubs and Networks (ODHS)


  • Climate Change Worker Relief Fund (DAS)


  • Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program (ODOE)


  • Natural & Working Lands Fund (OWEB) (excerpt from OCEN network message)



Senate E&E Committee


On 3/19, the committee heard testimony on SB 1143, which would direct the PUC to establish a pilot program allowing natural gas utilities to develop pilot projects for a utility-scale thermal energy network (TEN) to provide heating and cooling services for customers. A TEN is a network of pipes and heat pumps using noncombustible fluids to distribute thermal energy among buildings connected to the network, potentially reducing or eliminating green house gas emissions and improving energy efficiency. Within 2 years of the act’s effective date, each utility would have to file a proposal, which the PUC would evaluate according to specified criteria, for developing and operating a TEN and measuring its effectiveness, or an explanation for not doing so. The PUC would have to allow the utilities to recover prudent costs and expenses of the pilot project from all ratepayers. The -1 amendment would require project contractors to ensure that journey workers comprise escalating percentages of workers employed on a project depending on the project initiation date, among other labor provisions. 


Washington and seven other states have passed similar legislation. Cascade NG and Northwest Natural support the bill, as do Climate Solutions and other environmental groups and labor union reps, with no opposing testimonies. CUB was silent on the record.



House CEE 3/20/25


The committee moved two bills to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation and prior referral to Joint W&M:


HB 2566-3 would make stand-alone energy resilience projects eligible for grants under ODOE’s Community Renewable Energy Grant program, renamed the Community Renewable and Resilient Energy Investment Fund. The -3 amendment would require ODOE to allocate 20% of program funds for resilience projects, vs. “20% or less” in the introduced bill, to win the support of consumer-owned and municipal utilities and co-ops. The set-aside would not require a resilience project to be based on renewables. Fiscal impact is $186,000 in Other Funds and 0.75 FTE for 2025-27. The fund has a current balance of $60 million, about half reserved for projects that have not yet been distributed. Rep. Gamba voted against moving the bill on the grounds that it would take money away from deserving renewable projects.

HB 3172-2 would direct the Department of the State Fire Marshal (DSFM) and DCBS to establish and implement the Wildfire Prepared Structure Program, providing grants to retrofit existing dwellings and rebuild dwellings damaged by wildfires. It would provide an unspecified GF appropriation to DSFM for 2025-27.

The committee also heard testimony on the following bills:

  • HB 3823 would create a property tax break for personal property used by a business (other than a utility) to generate or store energy for consumption by the business on its premises. Personal property includes on-site generators and battery units, vs. real property such as rooftop solar panels. Rep. Gomberg said a coming amendment would allow local jurisdictions to opt in rather than making this a mandate and would specify that the exemption applies only to new investments rather than those made in the past. Gomberg is working with AOC on the amendment. He asked the committee to forward the bill to Revenue without recommendation.

  • HB 3747 would create a refundable income tax credit for the purchase of battery energy and solar photovoltaic electric systems. The credit amounts would be $1,000 for a solar photovoltaic system, $2,500 for a battery storage system, $3,500 for a paired system. OSSIA supports, noting that the state's Solar and Storage Rebate Program has run out of funds and the outlook for federal tax credits is highly uncertain. The proposed tax credits would support local jobs in small to medium-sized businesses.



Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Governance, Natural Resources, and Social Policy report sections.



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