20 results for tag: policy

2026 Short Session Recap

Earlier this month, the 2026 legislative session officially came to a close. It was a “short” session year – meaning less than a month between the Capitol doors opening and sine die. It was a sprint to get a lot done in a little amount of time. Even so, we were able to make meaningful progress in some crucial areas. At the same time, the legislature left Oregonians disappointed when it came time to take action on important legislation. Here’s where everything stands as we look ahead to 2027. The Good There was a renewed sense of energy in the Oregon State Capitol building this session. After nearly a decade of construction and pandemic-caused ...

2026 Short Session Update

When I joined OEC in November, I hit the ground running with the program team to prepare for the legislative session. Despite it being a “short” session year, we brought some major legislation to the table – focused on strengthening climate accountability, shoring up protections from environmental catastrophes, advancing much-needed improvements to the state’s transportation system and protecting essential state programs from sweeping cuts. Short sessions move fast – we’ve already flown past the halfway mark in what feels like the blink of an eye. But in just a few weeks time, we’ve already made some exciting progress. OEC has ...

What Governor Kotek’s Executive Order Rollout Means for Oregon

In the face of federal disinvestment and attacks on landmark climate protections, Governor Tina Kotek is ensuring that Oregon continues to build a healthier, more affordable, equitable, and resilient future.  Over the last two months, Governor Kotek has rolled out three new executive orders aimed at accelerating clean energy development, protecting our state’s land and water, and implementing least-cost solutions to decarbonize our energy and transportation systems. With mounting challenges from the federal level, these orders are a display of bold action in the face of adversity – which is exactly the type of leadership our state needs right ...

You Can’t Put a Price on Saving Lives

Oregon state lawmakers are entering the final weeks of the legislative session. As our elected officials make tough decisions about what bills will pass or die this session, one thing is clear: there’s not enough money to go around. Against this budget-constrained backdrop, already this month Oregon has already faced a heatwave, wildfires, and a smog warning. People across our state need home cooling, clean air, and energy security. These aren’t luxuries. They’re life-saving essentials in the face of extreme climate events. Only four years ago, a heat dome claimed the lives of hundreds of Oregonians, many of them elders, living alone ...

Could Oregon be the 5th state to pass a ‘right to repair’ law? Here is how you can help!

Oregon’s Right to Repair (SB 1596) will reduce Oregon’s electronic waste footprint by requiring technology companies to make parts that allow small businesses to repair electronics like smartphones.

Clean Tech: Greener, Richer, Freer

More and more people in Oregon and across the United States are embracing electric vehicles and efficient HVAC systems to heat and cool their homes. Individual decisions like these will help Oregon deliver on its climate goals, but is our state missing a big opportunity to create thousands of jobs building clean energy technologies? Hear from industry experts who spoke at our latest Business & Environment Forum about Oregon’s chance to be a leader in clean tech.

Climate Champion: Governor Brown’s Legacy and the Path Ahead

Governor Brown delivered historic climate policy protections. Now it’s up to Governor Kotek to build on this progress.

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, and reduce pollution. Now we need to act on their recommendations. Oregon ...

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 partners. Our alliances aren't always conventional. We worked with farmworker ...

Call on Oregon leaders to move forward with Clean Energy Jobs

When the 2018 session ended, the immense public support and momentum of the Clean Energy Jobs bill helped shape an historic pathway to adoption in 2019. Our leaders in Oregon's House and Senate created a first-of-a-kind committee to tackle carbon reduction and they approved dollars to pay for a Carbon Policy Office to inform the process and the public. The new committee, the Joint Interim Committee On Carbon Reduction, is led by Senate President Courtney and House Speaker Kotek. This summer, in just two meetings, lawmakers have heard from experts in science, economics and policy who have spoken about Oregon’s potential to draw down ...