Policy
Oregon Environmental Council advances effective public policies that safeguard our future. Here are the latest updates on actions from the Oregon Legislature, Governor’s Office and state agencies:
New Initiatives for Safe, Affordable, Climate-Friendly Homes and Buildings
The 2023 legislative session presents a vital opportunity to make progress in achieving our climate goals and protect families and communities from ever-worsening climate impacts. OEC is excited to support a “Building Resilience” policy package this session that will cut pollution and increase the climate resilience of our homes and buildings
Recognizing the vital need to transform and expand Oregon’s building stock in a way that maximizes climate, public health, affordability, and job creation benefits for Oregon, the 2022 legislature established the ...
Climate Protection Win for Oregon Workers
Industry plaintiffs brought two claims against rules to protect workers in Oregon from the harmful and dangerous impacts of exposure to heat and smoke. Both suits were dismissed “with prejudice” which means they were dismissed permanently and cannot be brought to Court again.
On December 20, 2022, the U.S. District Court in Medford dismissed a lawsuit brought by Oregon Manufacturers and Commerce, Associated Oregon Loggers Inc., and the Oregon Forest Industries Council. The suit was intended to roll back a set of rules that Oregon OSHA put in place in June ...
REBuilding Task Force Delivers Recommendations
The buildings we use for homes, workplaces, and gathering spaces play a special role in the future of our changing climate. They can provide a safe place to escape extreme heat, storms, or wildfires caused by climate change. But when those same buildings rely on fracked methane (“natural”) gas, the air insides in unsafe to breathe and methane is one of the worst climate pollutants.
A special state task force came together to tackle this issue and recently recommended some practical, common-sense policies that can make Oregon’s buildings safer, lower energy bills, ...
Breathe Easier: Cleaner Fuels and Cleaner Air for Oregonians
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: Joel Schoening, joels@oeconline.org (503) 349-3254
Breathe Easier: Cleaner Fuels and Cleaner Air for Oregonians State Adopts Nation’s Strongest Standards for Clean Fuels
Salem, OR - Today, Oregon set a new nation-leading standard that will protect our air from fossil fuel tailpipe pollution and accelerate the transition to cleaner fuel options, like electricity and renewable biofuels. Extending and strengthening the State’s Clean Fuels Standard will improve public health, guard Oreognians against future ...
Unlocking the Power of the Grid
Last July, OEC worked with our allies to persuade the Oregon Legislature to adopt 100% Clean Energy for All, which will transition Oregon’s electricity supply away from fossil fuels no later than 2040, among the fastest such transitions in the nation. Creating more wind, solar, and wave energy is one thing. Ensuring it gets to consumers is another. When the power is out, much of our lives – and our economy – comes to a standstill. Our March 15 Business and Environment Forum focused on new ways in which clean energy can be available reliably, even when the sun isn’t ...
2022 Oregon legislative victories!
With a flurry of action in just five short weeks, the 2022 Legislative Session concluded on March 4th. This year’s session started with extreme uncertainty as a result of major changes in leadership and a new COVID variant. It also began with good news: an unexpectedly large state budget surplus. In the end, Oregon Environmental Council is thrilled that most of our major priorities made it across the finish line and that we helped win crucial investments in environmental and community benefits.
We did this work, like always, in collaboration with a wide array of ...
2022 Oregon Legislature: Mid-Session Update
The 2022 Legislative Session is well underway. OEC staff have jumped in with both feet, analyzing bills and recommending improvements, writing and delivering strong testimony, organizing partnered groups, and defending against harmful proposals. So far we have testified on over 20 unique bills and inspired nearly 300 citizen contacts to legislators and committees from OEC activists like you. We have focused our efforts on four key areas.
Efficient and resilient buildings and communities,
Clean and equitable transportation,
Jobs, Justice, and Health
...
What could we do with a billion dollars?
Now that Congress has passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more than a billion dollars will be coming to Oregon for transportation.
That’s great news and it presents us with a big opportunity to think about how we can spend that money wisely. Some of the money is committed to specific projects already underway. But, we’ll have choices with the rest and we should demand that it be invested in things that we know we need in the future. Things that will give people more freedom, access, and choices about how they get around, and which also make our ...
OEC and partners call on ODOT to consider climate and equity
July 14, 2021
Oregon Transportation Commission
355 Capitol Street, NE MS 11
Salem, Oregon 97301
Dear Chair Van Brocklin and members of the Oregon Transportation Commission:
Our organizations write this letter as communities around the state are reporting dozens of deaths in the wake of a record-breaking heatwave while preparing for another summer and fall of destructive wildfires. Climate change is already bringing enormous human suffering to Oregon. Transportation systems have been disrupted. The consensus among experts is that the chaos and ...
SB 289: Addressing a safety disparity in the outdoors
OEC was excited to see that the Oregon Legislature passed, with broad support from both republicans and democrats, SB 289, the Safety in the Outdoors bill. This bill is an important step to make public spaces safer for everyone, and to ensure more equitable access to Oregon state parks and resources that are critical to health and well-being.
