Oregon Legislative results for 2022 session
Sen Dembrow's (D, Portland) list of bills passed, and a few that didn't pass, about climate action and the environment, environmental justice, product stewardship, forestry, and resiliency.
LOOKING BACK AT THE 2022 SESSION: ENVIRONMENT/CLIMATE ACTION
I’m pleased to report that the 2022 Legislature made progress on a number of fronts related to resiliency, forestry, climate action, product stewardship, and environmental justice.
RESILIENCY
You won’t be surprised to see that first on my list is SB 1567, Addressing Risks from Fuel Storage Tanks in the Event of a Big Earthquake. This bill was my top priority for the short session. (Here’s the floor speech in when I carried it to the Senate floor.) The bill will create long-overdue oversight of the fuel tanks located in the so-called Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub along the banks of the Willamette River, where hundreds of millions of gallons of liquid fuel are stored before being distributed around the state. It also will create oversight of a huge facility in Eugene, where fuel is stored before further distribution in central and southern Oregon. We’ve known for years that these tanks pose a huge risk to neighbors, wildlife, and the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in the event of the subduction-zone earthquake that we know is coming.
I’m happy to report that we were able to make the case that urgent action and investment are needed. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support from around the state: It passed 23-2 in the Senate, and 50-7 in the House. DEQ will begin its rulemaking process soon, creating a rulemaking advisory committee (RAC) that will include industry, scientists, engineers, and neighbors. I’ll also be working with private and public partners to secure federal funding to help pay for the necessary retrofits.
SB 1536, Preparing for Extreme Heat Events. We know that climate change is bringing us a variety of extreme weather events. While we need to take action to bring down our emissions and prevent further devastation, we also need to prepare for the warming that we know is already happening. An example of that is the horrific “heat dome” experience that we had last summer that led to hardship and death for all too many. This session the Legislatures considered two “cooling bills,” helping low-income Oregonians adjust to future climate-induced heat events by having better access to cooling in their homes. They eventually became one, creating a program to distribute air conditioners and heat pumps to people in need. It also limits the ability of landlords to prohibit cooling units from being installed in rentals.
Also in the category of resiliency is HB 4057.. It addresses our growing problems with drought and inadequate water supply (another product of climate change) by requiring the use of high-efficiency sprinklers for landscaping going forward. Representative Pam Marsh of Ashland was the driving force behind this effort, and it proved highly successful. It passed the House 48-10 and the Senate 22-3.
FORESTRY
We’re unfortunately used to seeing seemingly irreconcilable battles between environmentalists and the timber industry when it comes to issues of forest practices and forest health. When the parties can sit down and focus on shared interests and find acceptable compromises, it is definitely cause for celebration. And that’s what happened this year.
SB 1501 was the product of a successful negotiation between timber interests and environmentalists brokered by the Governor. It focuses on creating logging buffer zones alongside the streams that play a critical role in water quality and fish habitat. The first phase of the accords regulated aerial pesticide spraying in these areas, a longtime priority of mine. SB 1501 puts the agreement into statute, and sets us up for ongoing productive work. It passed the Senate 22-5 and the House 43-15.
SB 1546 was also the culmination of a long collaborative process, this one focused on the future of the Elliott State Forest in Southwest Oregon. This is a forest whose timber revenues have helped fund schools, but for environmental reasons its harvests need to be reduced. HB 1546 turns the Elliott into a research forest to study various conservation, sequestration, and forest health practices. It uses one-time state dollars to make up for potential timber revenue losses.
CLIMATE ACTION
There wasn’t too much direct climate action in the 2022 session. Most of this year’s climate action work has been in the hands of the executive branch, with the Environmental Quality Commission finalizing the rules on the Climate Action Plan (which was the necessary alternative to legislative action after the Republican walkouts of 2019 and 2020). Last session saw passage of the big 100% Clean Electricity bill, HB 2021 (2021), putting Oregon on track to lead the nation in phasing out its reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation. One bill that passed this session made some technical fixes to that bill, correcting some problems that emerged too late last year to be dealt with. This was HB 4057, which includes corrections that will make it easier for renewable-energy projects to move forward. Unlike HB 2021 last year, this fix bill passed handily.
There was one bill that has the potential for big emissions reductions in the future. That’s SB 1518, which will create the Task Force on Resilient, Efficient Buildings. One of the environmental community’s top priorities for the session was to see passage of what’s known as “the Reach Code,” a statewide building code for new building construction that’s more environmentally ambitious (i.e., more energy efficiency, lower emissions) than the standard statewide code. The bill has been broadened to have a task force look at the role of buildings in climate action and public health more broadly. It will look at ways to improve existing buildings as well as new buildings. Building emissions are among Oregon’s biggest sources of fossil fuel emissions, and getting our buildings (residential and commercial) to be more energy-efficient and to use renewable energy sources would make a big difference in our meeting our climate goals.
PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP
There is a growing sense that the companies that produce the packaging items that are filling our landfills, polluting our roadsides, streams, and oceans bear a responsibility in getting them recycled or otherwise eliminating the problem. This was the motivation behind last year’s big recycling modernization bill, SB 582 (2021) SB 582 (2021). This session we moved forward on a couple more producer responsibility bills.
Oregon’s first product stewardship program, and one of the first in the nation, was our long-standing Bottle Bill program. Oregon’s program has remained the gold standard for deposit programs in the U.S., and that’s largely because it has developed and expanded over time. (I got to work on a couple of these improvements in the past.) I led a work group during the interim to work on further improvements to our bottle bill program. It led to SB 1520, which will eventually bring wine in cans into the program, bring in some of the regional beverage distributors who have not been fully participating, bring more transparency and accountability to the program, and further involve those “canners” who earn a living from collecting and redeeming cans. After working through some points of contention, we were able to get broad, bipartisan support for the bill. The Bottle Bill Modernization bill passed the Senate 23-4 and the House 46-12.
Here's my floor speech introducing the bill.
The second was SB 1576, which creates a product stewardship program for mattresses, similar to what we do for paint and electronics. It’s one that has been in the works for some time, with leadership from Senator James Manning of Eugene. Most of the technical work was done by my former Chief of Staff, Logan Gilles, and Lawanda Manning, the Senator’s beloved (by all) late wife. Purchasers of mattresses will pay a small fee that will be used to ensure that the mattresses are properly recycled. It passed the Senate18-7 and the House 37-22 House.
Environmental Justice
Many of the environmental bills passed this session included a focus on low-income and communities of color, those who have all too often been the victims of poor environmental decisions. The CEI Hub bill and the Cooling bill are good examples of efforts to make sure that earlier harmful decisions are rectified in the future.
The primary example, though, is HB 4077 , which makes significant improvements and commitment to the Environmental Justice Task Force. We’ve had this task force in place since 2007 to make sure that the needs of frontline communities are considered when environmental decisions are being made. But it has never been properly supported and prioritized. HB 4077 provides sustainable funding to support the volunteer members of the task force, many of them low-income themselves, to do this work. The EJ Task Force will now be the EJ Council. The bill also directs the Council to develop a mapping tool to assess environmental, health and socioeconomic disparities. The tool will layer data such as air pollution emissions, ozone levels and toxic hazards with information such as linguistic isolation and income levels. This data will be used for assessing executive and legislative decisions and making sure that the health and well-being of all Oregonians are being prioritized.
DID NOT PASS
There were of course disappointments. Two stand out for me, and I can promise that both will be back.
Oregon is in a privileged position to tap the value of our natural and working lands as part of both Climate Action and Rural Revitalization. SB 1534 would have defined the role of carbon sequestration and carbon storage in our natural and working lands as part of our climate action goals. It would have clarified that the sustainable use of our forests, fields, and shorelines are a key part of climate action. It would have begun the process of operationalizing the recommendations in the recently released Natural and Working Lands Report from the Oregon Global Warming Commission. The bill would also have dedicated funding for developing incentive programs, particularly for family-owned farms and forests.
This bill’s failure was one of my biggest personal disappointments for this short session. I’m already beginning the effort to bring it back in 2023.
On a more positive related note, we did manage to get $5 million into the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program, designed to keep small farms continuing as family farms. That's a bit of a silver lining.
The second bill is also related to climate action. In order to encourage a more rapid transition to renewable energy (crucial if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change), we’re starting to see universities, states, and other jurisdictions taking steps to divest their investment portfolios of companies that profit from fossil fuels. Part of the motivation is also a growing sense that these investments won’t be secure in the future, and the state will find itself possessing assets that have seriously lost value. (We may be in that position already if the state possesses serious investments that include Russian fossil-fuel companies in their portfolios.)
As a potential first step, it made sense to get a clearer sense of the extent of Oregon’s holdings in fossil fuel companies. HB 4115 would have done that. It requires Treasury to report on its current investments in fossil fuels. I expect to see it come back either in its current form or through an outright divestment bill.
I’m pleased to report that the 2022 Legislature made progress on a number of fronts related to resiliency, forestry, climate action, product stewardship, and environmental justice.
RESILIENCY
You won’t be surprised to see that first on my list is SB 1567, Addressing Risks from Fuel Storage Tanks in the Event of a Big Earthquake. This bill was my top priority for the short session. (Here’s the floor speech in when I carried it to the Senate floor.) The bill will create long-overdue oversight of the fuel tanks located in the so-called Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub along the banks of the Willamette River, where hundreds of millions of gallons of liquid fuel are stored before being distributed around the state. It also will create oversight of a huge facility in Eugene, where fuel is stored before further distribution in central and southern Oregon. We’ve known for years that these tanks pose a huge risk to neighbors, wildlife, and the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in the event of the subduction-zone earthquake that we know is coming.
I’m happy to report that we were able to make the case that urgent action and investment are needed. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support from around the state: It passed 23-2 in the Senate, and 50-7 in the House. DEQ will begin its rulemaking process soon, creating a rulemaking advisory committee (RAC) that will include industry, scientists, engineers, and neighbors. I’ll also be working with private and public partners to secure federal funding to help pay for the necessary retrofits.
SB 1536, Preparing for Extreme Heat Events. We know that climate change is bringing us a variety of extreme weather events. While we need to take action to bring down our emissions and prevent further devastation, we also need to prepare for the warming that we know is already happening. An example of that is the horrific “heat dome” experience that we had last summer that led to hardship and death for all too many. This session the Legislatures considered two “cooling bills,” helping low-income Oregonians adjust to future climate-induced heat events by having better access to cooling in their homes. They eventually became one, creating a program to distribute air conditioners and heat pumps to people in need. It also limits the ability of landlords to prohibit cooling units from being installed in rentals.
Also in the category of resiliency is HB 4057.. It addresses our growing problems with drought and inadequate water supply (another product of climate change) by requiring the use of high-efficiency sprinklers for landscaping going forward. Representative Pam Marsh of Ashland was the driving force behind this effort, and it proved highly successful. It passed the House 48-10 and the Senate 22-3.
FORESTRY
We’re unfortunately used to seeing seemingly irreconcilable battles between environmentalists and the timber industry when it comes to issues of forest practices and forest health. When the parties can sit down and focus on shared interests and find acceptable compromises, it is definitely cause for celebration. And that’s what happened this year.
SB 1501 was the product of a successful negotiation between timber interests and environmentalists brokered by the Governor. It focuses on creating logging buffer zones alongside the streams that play a critical role in water quality and fish habitat. The first phase of the accords regulated aerial pesticide spraying in these areas, a longtime priority of mine. SB 1501 puts the agreement into statute, and sets us up for ongoing productive work. It passed the Senate 22-5 and the House 43-15.
SB 1546 was also the culmination of a long collaborative process, this one focused on the future of the Elliott State Forest in Southwest Oregon. This is a forest whose timber revenues have helped fund schools, but for environmental reasons its harvests need to be reduced. HB 1546 turns the Elliott into a research forest to study various conservation, sequestration, and forest health practices. It uses one-time state dollars to make up for potential timber revenue losses.
CLIMATE ACTION
There wasn’t too much direct climate action in the 2022 session. Most of this year’s climate action work has been in the hands of the executive branch, with the Environmental Quality Commission finalizing the rules on the Climate Action Plan (which was the necessary alternative to legislative action after the Republican walkouts of 2019 and 2020). Last session saw passage of the big 100% Clean Electricity bill, HB 2021 (2021), putting Oregon on track to lead the nation in phasing out its reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation. One bill that passed this session made some technical fixes to that bill, correcting some problems that emerged too late last year to be dealt with. This was HB 4057, which includes corrections that will make it easier for renewable-energy projects to move forward. Unlike HB 2021 last year, this fix bill passed handily.
There was one bill that has the potential for big emissions reductions in the future. That’s SB 1518, which will create the Task Force on Resilient, Efficient Buildings. One of the environmental community’s top priorities for the session was to see passage of what’s known as “the Reach Code,” a statewide building code for new building construction that’s more environmentally ambitious (i.e., more energy efficiency, lower emissions) than the standard statewide code. The bill has been broadened to have a task force look at the role of buildings in climate action and public health more broadly. It will look at ways to improve existing buildings as well as new buildings. Building emissions are among Oregon’s biggest sources of fossil fuel emissions, and getting our buildings (residential and commercial) to be more energy-efficient and to use renewable energy sources would make a big difference in our meeting our climate goals.
PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP
There is a growing sense that the companies that produce the packaging items that are filling our landfills, polluting our roadsides, streams, and oceans bear a responsibility in getting them recycled or otherwise eliminating the problem. This was the motivation behind last year’s big recycling modernization bill, SB 582 (2021) SB 582 (2021). This session we moved forward on a couple more producer responsibility bills.
Oregon’s first product stewardship program, and one of the first in the nation, was our long-standing Bottle Bill program. Oregon’s program has remained the gold standard for deposit programs in the U.S., and that’s largely because it has developed and expanded over time. (I got to work on a couple of these improvements in the past.) I led a work group during the interim to work on further improvements to our bottle bill program. It led to SB 1520, which will eventually bring wine in cans into the program, bring in some of the regional beverage distributors who have not been fully participating, bring more transparency and accountability to the program, and further involve those “canners” who earn a living from collecting and redeeming cans. After working through some points of contention, we were able to get broad, bipartisan support for the bill. The Bottle Bill Modernization bill passed the Senate 23-4 and the House 46-12.
Here's my floor speech introducing the bill.
The second was SB 1576, which creates a product stewardship program for mattresses, similar to what we do for paint and electronics. It’s one that has been in the works for some time, with leadership from Senator James Manning of Eugene. Most of the technical work was done by my former Chief of Staff, Logan Gilles, and Lawanda Manning, the Senator’s beloved (by all) late wife. Purchasers of mattresses will pay a small fee that will be used to ensure that the mattresses are properly recycled. It passed the Senate18-7 and the House 37-22 House.
Environmental Justice
Many of the environmental bills passed this session included a focus on low-income and communities of color, those who have all too often been the victims of poor environmental decisions. The CEI Hub bill and the Cooling bill are good examples of efforts to make sure that earlier harmful decisions are rectified in the future.
The primary example, though, is HB 4077 , which makes significant improvements and commitment to the Environmental Justice Task Force. We’ve had this task force in place since 2007 to make sure that the needs of frontline communities are considered when environmental decisions are being made. But it has never been properly supported and prioritized. HB 4077 provides sustainable funding to support the volunteer members of the task force, many of them low-income themselves, to do this work. The EJ Task Force will now be the EJ Council. The bill also directs the Council to develop a mapping tool to assess environmental, health and socioeconomic disparities. The tool will layer data such as air pollution emissions, ozone levels and toxic hazards with information such as linguistic isolation and income levels. This data will be used for assessing executive and legislative decisions and making sure that the health and well-being of all Oregonians are being prioritized.
DID NOT PASS
There were of course disappointments. Two stand out for me, and I can promise that both will be back.
Oregon is in a privileged position to tap the value of our natural and working lands as part of both Climate Action and Rural Revitalization. SB 1534 would have defined the role of carbon sequestration and carbon storage in our natural and working lands as part of our climate action goals. It would have clarified that the sustainable use of our forests, fields, and shorelines are a key part of climate action. It would have begun the process of operationalizing the recommendations in the recently released Natural and Working Lands Report from the Oregon Global Warming Commission. The bill would also have dedicated funding for developing incentive programs, particularly for family-owned farms and forests.
This bill’s failure was one of my biggest personal disappointments for this short session. I’m already beginning the effort to bring it back in 2023.
On a more positive related note, we did manage to get $5 million into the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program, designed to keep small farms continuing as family farms. That's a bit of a silver lining.
The second bill is also related to climate action. In order to encourage a more rapid transition to renewable energy (crucial if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change), we’re starting to see universities, states, and other jurisdictions taking steps to divest their investment portfolios of companies that profit from fossil fuels. Part of the motivation is also a growing sense that these investments won’t be secure in the future, and the state will find itself possessing assets that have seriously lost value. (We may be in that position already if the state possesses serious investments that include Russian fossil-fuel companies in their portfolios.)
As a potential first step, it made sense to get a clearer sense of the extent of Oregon’s holdings in fossil fuel companies. HB 4115 would have done that. It requires Treasury to report on its current investments in fossil fuels. I expect to see it come back either in its current form or through an outright divestment bill.
Oregon Legislative results for 2021 session
- Report on democracy reforms by ORUUVoices for Justice Board member, David Delk (June 27, 2021)
- Report by Jonathan Levinson of OPB: Oregon lawmakers OK police accountability measures, but face calls for bigger change (April 27, 2021)
- Report (House Democrats Historic 2021 Session Delivered on Promises to Oregonians) from the Oregon House Democrats showing progress on areas of Housing, Equity, Racial Justice, Economic Recovery, Education and Workforce Development, Energy, Public Health and access to healthcare, Climate change, Modernizing the Legislative process,
[Note that their list of achievements does not include any work on one of the most important issues to Oregonians: enacting limits on campaign finance contributions, dark money, etc] - News report (How working people and unions fared in the 2021 session of the Oregon Legislature) from NW Labor Press on how the legislature treated labor during the session, including which bills passed, did not pass.
- NW Labor Press published a similar report for Washington State.
- Education focused legislation enacted this OR legislative session summary. This report was supplied by Sen. Dembrow, Chair of the Senate Education Committee.
- Democracy Lens for 2021 Oregon Legislature - a report from Oregon Common Cause. Conclusion is that the biggest failure was not enacting effective limits on campaign contributions. Concludes that there is still a chance for the Legislature to act in next years Legislative short session or we will have to do this via the Oregon initiative process.
Who represents me in Oregon legislature and Congress
Legislative priorities of legislators and organizations
Legislative priorities of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color Caucus
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Rep. Khanh Pham
Rep. Pham starts her legislative priorities with the three bills of the Oregon Clean Energy Opportunity Campaign. Rep. Dan Rayfield
Our office has drafted and sponsored numerous policies for the 2021 Legislative session that range from expanding access to health care to campaign finance limits. Here is a snapshot of some of the concepts our office will be working on: Campaign Contribution Limits – HB 2680 Oregon is one of a handful of states without campaign contribution limits. This bill will establish campaign contribution limits to lessen the impact of big money in politics. Campaign contribution limits are the first step towards making the voices of everyday Oregonian’s as loud as big monied interests. Increasing Health Care Access for Adults with Disabilities – LC 1148 We believe health care is a human right and increasing access at any opportunity is one of our top priorities. This legislation would allow adults with disabilities, who are otherwise ineligible for Medicaid, to re-enroll in their parent’s commercial health insurance plan if they lose coverage of their own, even if they are over the age of 26. Buy Clean – HB 2688 Oregon agencies do not factor in the carbon footprint or environmental externalities of the products they purchase. HB 2688 would create a pilot program that requires state agencies to factor in the environmental costs of certain construction materials when purchasing those materials. The program effectively incentivizes the purchase of more environmentally friendly products that are more often made locally. Consumer Protection & Worker Safety – HB 2682 In Benton County, we tragically saw the life-threatening consequences when construction vehicles and machinery are leased in an unsafe condition. This bill requires that all construction vehicles rented in the state be periodically inspected and be maintained in a safe and reliable condition. Non-Lethal Wildlife Conflict Species Deterrent – HB 2689 The management of predator species on farm and range land continues to be a hot-button issue. Modeled after a program that began right here in Benton County, the Non-Lethal Wildlife Conflict Species Deterrent bill would create a pilot program to expand farmers access to non-lethal methods of wildlife deterrence. These methods of deterrence are more humane and often more effective than lethal means. Ranked Choice Voting – HB 2678 As we have seen in Oregon and across the nation too many times, candidates win nominations and elections to office while receiving less than half of the total vote. Ranked choice voting (RCV) gives voters more choices, increases the diversity of candidates running for office, and ensures that candidates win with a majority of votes. In 2016, Benton County passed Measure 2-100 and used RCV during the 2020 November election for the first time! Good Government and Ethics Loopholes – HB 2923 & HB 2922 Under Oregon law it is legal for a candidate to profit off their campaign funds by using those funds to hire a business that the candidate owns and operates. It is also legal for an elected official to purposely not disclose significant government contracts and legislative interests associated with businesses that they own. This bill seeks to eliminate both of these loopholes. Visit the Oregon Legislative Information System to see more details about the bills that we will be introducing in 2021! |
Sen. Rob Wagner
In addition to championing the Oregon Senate Democrats' agenda, I am working to pass legislation on a range of crucial issues for our communities. Some of the bills I'm supporting are described below:
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