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Legislative Report - Week of 4/3

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Climate Emergency Priorities

 

By Claudia Keith, Climate Emergency Coordinator


CE priority bills continue to move forward. All have moved to the floor or to JW&Ms. Find in previous LR reports additional background on each CE priority.

 

1. SB 530 -7: Natural and Working Lands: On 4/4 the bill moved to JW&Ms with Do pass with -7 amendment, a 3/2 partisan vote. The League continues to be an active coalition member. Fiscal. Staff Measure Summary.

 

2. Resilient Buildings (RB) policy package: Work sessions were held on 4/4. All four bills moved to JW&Ms, with a partisan vote. The League is an active RB coalition partner. Link to League testimonies: SB 868, 869, 870 and 871. Recently posted to OLIS:

 

 

*** Mark your Calendars: The Resilient Buildings Coalition is having an in-person LOBBY Day at the Capital April 20. More details via an Alert will be published later this month. Pre-register for this Lobby Day.***

 

3. Environmental Justice (EJ) 2023 bills: The League joined the Worker Advocate Coalition on 2/13. SB 593 is one of two bills the League will follow and support. The ‘Right to Refuse dangerous work’ SB 907-6, League testimony. New on OLIS: SB 907 amendment -6 staff measure summary. 4/4 work session, moved to the floor with do pass with amendments, a unanimous vote. SB907 Coalition Sign-on Letter - LWVOR one of many organizations…

 

4. Oregon Climate Action Commission (currently Oregon Global Warming Commission): Roadmap, SB 522 -3 staff measure summary, fiscal, 4/4 Work Session moved, with 4/1 vote to JW&Ms.

 

5. Other Governor Climate / Carbon Policy Topics: See 20-04 Executive Order topics. This area includes other GHG emission mitigation/reductions (DEQ) and new clean renewable energy (DEQ & DOE), OHA public health, and ODOT (Dept of Transportation) policy and funding bills.

 

6. CE related total 2023-2025 biennium budget: The governor’s budget* was published Jan 31; Kotek’s budget priorities. A main funding problem concerns how the favorable ending current period balance, estimated to be >$765M, can be used. It will take a 3/5 vote in both chambers to pass this proposed change.

 

We provided testimony on the Oregon Dept. of Energy (ODOE) budget (HB 5016) and will be adding climate items to (DEQ) HB 5018 League 3/30 testimony. In both cases, our testimony will request additional agency requests not included in the Governor’s Jan budget. Another major issue, the upcoming mid-May Forecast, will likely provide new required budget balancing guidelines.

 

Find in last week’s Social Policy LR a summary of the Governor’s recommended budget for the OHA Public Health Div. It includes Healthcare, Natural Resources, and Climate Emergency related topics.

 

 

Other CE Bills

 

By Claudia Keith

 

HB 2763 -1: League Testimony. Creates a State public bank Task Force. Like the RB task force, the 23-member Task Force is required to recommend no later than Jan 2024. “The report must include a recommendation for a governing structure for a public bank.” This policy topic will likely have a bill in the 2024 session -1 staff measure summary. Moved on 3/14 with recommendation to JW&Ms with -1 amendment. Fiscal

 

HB 3016 -2 community green infrastructure, Rep Pham K, Senator Dembrow, Rep Gamba. Work Session was 3/15. Fiscal Moved to JW&Ms unanimously. Legislative -2 Staff Measure Summary.


 

House CE&E 4/5/23

 

By Greg Martin

 

House CE&E heard favorable testimony on April 5 for SB 545 A from Sen. Sollman and environmental witnesses. The Senate engrossed bill greatly simplifies the original, removing the detailed prescription of what the OHA rules must contain. The amended bill simply requires OHA to "adopt rules allowing for a restaurant to allow a consumer to fill a consumer-owned container with food." It also gives OHA an additional 6 months to adopt the rules, by June 30, 2024. ODA was removed from the rulemaking mandate.  Senate E&E Work Session 4/4/23


Update: In addition to SB 868-871, Senate E&E reported:

SB 542-7: Right to Repair bill, minimal expenditure impact so presumably sent to the floor. 

 

SB 522-3: Renames OGWC as the Oregon Climate Action Commission; increases membership from 25 to 35 members (13 voting), including an EJ member, a “youth representative” and a member with “significant experience in the fishing industry”; declares Oregon’s “aspiration” to reduce GHG emissions in stages, to achieve 2050 levels that are at least 95% below 1990 levels, and net zero emissions by 2050; requires the commission to track progress toward those goals; and requires DEQ to study and report on opportunities to reduce consumption-based GHG emissions through materials management or other state programs. Fiscal note projects expenditure of $776K in 2023-25 and $632K in 2025-27 for two new full-time ODOE staff and contracting for the required emissions forecast. Presumably referred to Joint W&M.

 

SB 803-6: Original bill would have established a CI standard for diesel fuel sold in Oregon for use in on-road vehicles, beginning in 2026. Opposition from trucking, ag, construction, et al, pared it back to a “study” bill for DEQ. Fiscal note estimates the study cost at $90K, subsequent referral to JW&Ms.

 

 

House C E & E 3/29

 

By Greg Martin

 

HB 3459-5: Adjustments to the low-income electric bill payment assistance program for PGE and PP customers. Moved to the JW&Ms (6-4 vote). Fiscal note explains: Under current law, HCSD receives $20 million/yr as a base amount for bill payment assistance. In 2021, an additional $10 million was authorized for collection and deposit through December 2023. This bill reduces the supplemental amount collected to $5 million and extends the sunset through December 2025. Projected to require an additional $2.5 million for bill payment assistance in both 23-25 and 25-27. 

 

HB 3590: Requires study of developing fuel pathways for low carbon fuels derived from woody biomass residues from forestry operations. Moved to JW&Ms by unanimous vote. Includes $3 million GF appropriation for HECC in 23-25.

 

HB 3004-3: Tax credit for “non-emitting” electricity generation or storage facility placed in service post 2024. Moved w/out recommendation, with referral to Tax Exp., then to W&M. Fiscal impact is indeterminate, depending on how many facilities might be eligible. 

 

HB 2571-2: Rebates for electric bicycle purchases. Moved to the floor with prior referral to W&M. It would appropriate $6 million (!) GF for the Electric Bicycle Incentive Fund; fiscal note estimates nearly a million more needed for DEQ program administration. 

 

HB 3464-3, the beaver protection act, had a 4/3 work session, unanimous vote, moved to floor, with do pass. No fiscal impact, and apparently, we'll still be able to call beavers "rodents" even though we can't "take" one unless it "imminently threatens infrastructure." Ducks are still fair game in season.

 

Senate E&E 3/30

 

SB 582-3: training and certification requirements for installers of EV charging systems, creating a training grant program under BOLI. Moved to floor w/ do pass recommendation, w/ referral to W&M for further fiscal analysis.

 

SB 123-2, study of digital labeling to convey info about recyclability claims. Moved to floor as amended w/ do pass recommendation. No fiscal impact.

 

All other bills on the agenda, including SB 488, 522, 542, 803 and 868-871, were carried over to Tuesday 4/4 for one reason or another.

 

House CE&E 4/3

 

The committee moved these bills among others to the floor with do-pass recommendation and referral to Joint W&M:

 

HB 3378-2: As amended, sets up a $2 million grant program under ODOE to cover counties’ cost of developing optional energy resi