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Climate Emergency

Legislative Report - Week of 5/12

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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While the primary focus of the LWVOR Action Committee is on Legislation in Oregon, what is happening at the federal level is likely to affect budgeting and other decisions in our state. These climate/energy-related Trump admin policy and budget related executive orders if implemented would drastically affect  global  UN COP efforts in all fifty states, including Oregon’s climate-related legislation (policy and budget), state agencies, and community climate action plans/state statutes/outcomes.


Federal


May 2, 2025: EPA Budget Would See Deep Cuts Under Trump’s Spending Plan | Bloomberg Law 


May 6, 2025: Trump Is Picking New Climate Fights With States. Here’s Why. | The New York Times


Science policy this week: May 5, 2025 - AIP.ORG (American Institute of Physics AIP.ORG )


May 7, 2025: Moment of truth nears on green credits, climate cuts | EE News


May 5, 2025: Trump proposes slashing DOE budget by $19.3B | Utility Dive


Oregon


 May 5,  2025 Oregon Legislature’s  Environmental Caucus Session Update/ Newsletter | Oregon.gov


May Update: 2025 Legislative Session | Sierra Club

May Update: 2025 Legislative Session | COIN ICOIN Oregon - CEE Legislation


You can track effects of federal cuts in Oregon through the Impact Project. See their interactive map. Many of the cuts listed affect climate and environmental concerns.


This past week the League joined a number of organizations signing on to a Letter from Members of the ACT (Advanced Clean Trucks) Rulemaking Advisory Committee as a Stakeholder or advocate. The letter was addressed to:

Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (Oeqc) and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Staff ( Deq)  Re: Support for strong and timely implementation of the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Rule, and enhancing the draft rules.


Transportation


“The transportation bills are now postponed to the week of May 19th--tentatively.  It will be a SMALL Package with maybe little or nothing related to the areas we support.  And there's a possibility they may create a new Joint Trans Committee.  It seems as if the current one may go away as of May 23rd....but this is unclear…”.    Via NR Leg Report, P. Lynch


Other Climate Priorities with League Testimony or public Endorsement and Still Alive

By Claudia Keith


Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package Update

 

 

See CEI Hub Seismic Risk Analysis (The study, Impacts of Fuel Releases from the CEI Hub, is intended to characterize and quantify the anticipated damages from the CEI Hub in the event of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) Earthquake.) See Climate Emergency April 28: CEI emergency management package update.


The Bigger Picture: ASCE's (American Society of Civil Engineers, founded in 1852), Oregon received a  C- grade Infrastructure Report Card.



Environmental Rights Constitutional Amendment

 

At this point in the session, it is unclear if SJR 28 has enough support to move out of Sen Rules. SJR 28  proposed -1 amendment, Environmental Rights Constitutional amendment (ERA) Senate Joint Resolution -  with referral to the 2026 ballot, public hearing was 3/26. The League provided support with comments testimony. The bill is in Senate Rules, so the Legislative first chamber deadlines are not applicable. A Work Session is not yet scheduled. The -1 amendment is a partial rewrite and may address the League’s concerns. 


Climate Treasury Investment Bills

By Claudia Keith


  • SB 681:  May be still active: Treasury: Fossil Fuel investment moratorium, in Sen F&R, PH 3/19. testimony. Sen Golden.


  • HB 2200  -1 , work session was 4/8, bill was requested by previous Treasury Sec Tobias and supported by Treasurer Steiner, related to ESG investing, identified as the compromise bill. League chose not to comment, could move to the floor, no JWM required. (still in H EMGGV, still awaiting transfer to desk)


  • HB 2966A: Establishes the State Public Financing / public bank Task Force, Work Session 3/6/2025 passed to Joint Ways and Means (JWM),fiscal: $1.3M ,  League Testimony, Rep Gamba, Senator,Golden, Frederick, Rep Andersen, Evans.



Historically, since 2009 Public banking policy topic has been included in many Leg sessions, (go here and then use Control F to search for ‘bank’. ) 22 bills mentioning Public and Bank have died in committee over the past 16 years. 




Natural and Working Lands



Other Climate Bills


  • HB 2566A: Stand-alone Energy resilience Projects, Work Session was 3/20, moved to JWM, Rep Gamba was the only nay. At the request of Governor Tina Kotek (H CEE), DOE presentation


  • HB 3365A: climate change instruction /curriculum in public schools, 4/21 moved to Sen Ed, 4/17 passed House 32/23, work session was 4/9, moved to floor with adopted amendment -4. House Cm Educ, WS 5/19 , League Testimony ,  NO Fiscal noted, Chief Sponsors: Rep Fragala, Rep McDonald, 


  • SB 688A: -5 , Public Utility Commission performance-based regulation of electric utilities, PH 3/12,& 3/19, work session was 3/24, updated $974K fiscal, moved to JWM , League testimony, Sen. Golden, Sen. Pham, 


  • SB 827A: Solar and Storage Rebate, SEE Work session 2/17, Gov. Kotek & DOE, Senate voted 21-7, moves to House 3/4 first reading. referred to H CEE 3/10, PH 4/22, work session 5/13.


  • HB 3546A, -3 the POWER Act, in Sen E&E , PH 4/30, 5/5, P WS 5/14,. The bill requires the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to create a new rate class for the largest energy users in the state. (data centers and other high-volume users). These regulations would only apply to customers in the for-profit utility's service areas of PGE, Pacific Power, and Idaho Power. NO Fiscal, on its way to the floor. The League has approved being listed on a coalition sign on advocacy letter.   

  • HB 3189 in JWM. Oregon lawmakers introduce legislation to rein in utility bills | KPTV, Citizens Utility Board CUB presentation here.
 

  • SB 1143A : -3, moved to JWM, with bipartisan vote, PH was 3/19, Work session was 4/7 SEE, PUC established a pilot program that allows each natural gas Co to develop a utility-scale thermal energy network (TEN) pilot project to provide heating and cooling services to customers. Senator Lieber, Sollman, Representative Levy B, Senator Smith DB, Representative Andersen, Marsh. Example: Introduction to the MIT Thermal Energy Networks (MITTEN) Plan for Rapid and Cost-Effective Campus Decarbonization.  


  • HB 3609  work session 4/8, moved to JWM. The measure requires electric companies to develop and file with the Oregon Public Utility Commission a distributed power plant program for the procurement of grid services from customers of the electric company who enroll in the program. H CEE,  PH 3/11


  • HB 3653 in Sen E&E, PH 4/28, WS was 5/5, 6-0 vote. House vote was 51 - 9. Allows authorized state agencies to enter into energy performance contracts without requiring a competitive procurement if the authorized state agency follows rules that the Attorney General adopts, negotiates a performance guarantee, and enters into the contract with a qualified energy service company that the ODOE prequalifies and approves.



Additional Enviornmental Justice Bills


HB2548: establishes an agriculture workforce labor standards board, League Testimony. Work Session was held 4/9 passed 4/3, with no amendments, no recommendation and in  House Rules. It is unclear why this bill is inactive.



Highlights of House and Senate Policy Committee and Chamber Votes


House CE&E had posted work sessions on the following OCN/OLCV Hot List bills:


5/15: SB 685 A – Requires a natural gas utility to notify all customers and the PUC if the utility plans to increase the amount of hydrogen that the utility blends with natural gas.

5/20: SB 726 A – Requires the owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill to conduct surface emissions monitoring and report data as specified in the Act.

Senate E&E had posted possible work sessions on:

5/14: HB 3336, Grid Enhancing Technologies (public hearing scheduled 5/12).

5/14: HB 3546 A, the POWER Act, directing the PUC to create a service classification for large energy use facilities -- a Priority bill on the Hot List.

The following Hot List bills were still alive in other committees:

  • HB 2945 – ZEV school buses (in Joint Transp)

  • HB 2961 – Expands EV charging requirements for new MF buildings (in Rules)

  • HB 3081 – One-Stop Shop (in Joint W&M) 

  • HB 3170 – Resilience hubs and networks (in Joint W&M)

  • SB 88 – Get the Junk Out of utility rates (in Rules--public hearing held 5/5)

  • SB 688 – Performance-based regulation of electric utilities (in Joint W&M)


In floor action: By a unanimous vote, the House repassed HB 2567 as amended by the Senate. The bill modifies the Heat Pump Deployment Program by revising eligibility criteria, funding distribution, and rebate structures. It changes “EJ” community to “disadvantaged” community; removes the 15% cap on administrative and marketing expenses and allows ODOE to set the cap by rule; allows ODOE to provide an additional incentive amount of up to $1,000 for contractors who install rental heat pumps in rural or frontier communities (incentives limited to no more than 5% of available funds); and extends the sunset date to 2032. It provides no additional funding for the rebate program




Climate Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust


Here is one example of how to track ODEQ Climate Protection Program cases. Basically, there are a number of active federal lawsuits, Climate Litigation  May 2nd Updates 

 

Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 86 lawsuits , (active and dismissed) mentioning Oregon.


There are no recent press releases from Our Children’s Trust.


Oregon Treasury: Oregon Divest/ Environmental, Social, and Governance Updates


March 2025 Fund Performance - Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund and graphics 

 

Published by Divest Oregon:

Executive Summary and Praise for Report

(see SB 681) 

 

Addressing the Risk of Climate Change:

A Comparison of US Pension Funds' Net Zero Plans – Jan 2025


2025 Climate Risk Review:

No Place to Hide - May 2025



VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:  What is your passion related to Climate Emergency ?  You can help. Volunteers are needed.  The short legislative session begins in January of 2026. Many State Agency Boards and Commissions meet regularly year-round and need monitoring.  If any area of climate or natural resources is of interest to you, please contact Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, or Claudia Keith Climate Emergency at peggylynchor@gmail.com Or climatepolicy@lwvor.org.  Training will be offered.



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



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