Positions of the League of Women Voters of Oregon. / Studies / LWVOR Positions / Position Index LWVOR Policy and Position Statements Governance Campaign Finance Re form LWVOR uses the LWVUS position on campaign finance reform as the basis for legislative and statewide action. Members adopted the position in 1973 following a study initiated by the 1972 Convention. The League supports measures to “improve methods of financing political campaigns in order to ensure the public’s right to know, combat corruption and undue influence, enable candidates to compete more equitably for public office and promote citizen participation in the political process.” Citizen Participation and Access “The League of Women Voters believes democratic government depends upon the informed and active participation of its citizens and requires that governmental bodies protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings, and making public records accessible.” LWVUS Principles “We must promote an open governmental system that is representative, accountable and responsive.” LWVUS Representative Government position Citizen participation and access are also important parts of LWVOR positions on Land Use and the Judicial System, and LWVUS positions on Campaign Finance, Citizens Right to Know/ Citizen Participation, Environmental Protection and Pollution Control, Natural Resources Public Participation, United Nations, and International Relations Trade Policy. Because of these scattered positions, we collect here our combined history of advocacy for Citizen Participation and Access. Civil Discourse “Promote civil discourse through action and education for all government bodies, staff, and citizens for the purpose of improved public policy decisions and processes. Civil discourse means, at a minimum, mutually respectful, courteous, constructive, and orderly communication.” Constitutional Provisions - Adopted 1963; Revised 1980 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that the Oregon Constitution should be a basic framework of state government, free of obsolete material and statutory detail. It should guarantee basic democratic rights to the people of the state by: Providing a bill of rights; Reserving initiative and referendum powers to the people. The Oregon Constitution should provide for a legislative assembly that is: Apportioned on a population basis, under a system that provides flexibility, adequate safeguards and enforcement procedures ensuring reapportionment after every federal census; Adequately salaried with the amount of salary specified by statute; Permitted to meet in annual sessions. The executive branch should be strengthened by provisions: Fixing authority and responsibility in the office of governor. The governor should be given the power to reorganize the administrative functions of the state government subject to legislative review and possible veto; Limiting the number of departments; Granting the power to appoint department heads to the governor with the consent of the Senate; For an item veto and an executive budget; Setting salaries by statute; Allowing no constitutional impairment of the state civil service system. Administrative – Post Audits (concurrence, 1980) Post audits of state and local governments should be conducted in an apolitical manner. The office performing post audit should function independently of the Legislature and the executive department. The office should be given appropriate enforcement tools. The Oregon Constitution should provide for a judicial system uniform in organization and administration with: Full time, legally trained judges paid by the state; Rule-making power vested in the Supreme Court; Mandatory retirement of judges; Judicial appointments that are made by the governor from a slate presented by a judicial nominating committee. The Oregon Constitution should provide for effective local government (1943, 1963) by: Allowing city and county home rule; Reserving to the Legislature authority to provide for local government flexibility to meet future needs. Revision of the constitution in the future should be permitted by use of the constitutional convention, initiative amendment, or legislative amendment. Statutes, constitutional amendments, and administrative decisions that implement these positions may be supported by the League. Individual Liberties The League’s Position: Statement of Position on Individual Liberties, as Announced by National Board, March 1982: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes in the individual liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. The League is convinced that individual rights now protected by the Constitution should not be weakened or abridged. Privacy and Cybersecurity - Adopted: January 2021 ; Amended January 2021 Cybersecurity is the prevention of damage to, protection of, and restoration of computers, electronic communications systems, electronic communications services, wire communication, and electronic communication, including information contained therein, to ensure its availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation. This position statement addresses Elections, Information Security, Personal Information Protection, and Electronic Business and Social Media. Elections Security The election process is the foundation of our representative form of government. Election integrity, accuracy, transparency, and trustworthiness require vigilance to ensure security protections. Security requirements include and are not limited to: verifiable ballots; ballots that can be recounted and audited; up-to-date hardware and software, supported by vendors, tested, and secure; protected voter registration databases; election staff/volunteers with cybersecurity expertise; cyber-damage contingency plans; risk-limiting audits; attention to disinformation and misleading ads. Protect voters’ ability to exercise an informed opinion on electoral matters. Explore limiting the unfettered electronic circulation and amplification of election misinformation (e.g., targeted disinformation campaigns, manipulated media, anonymous disinformation, and algorithmic and robotic disinformation campaigns). Information Security Government, individuals, and organizations (including the private sector and critical infrastructure), all require strong cybersecurity protections and effective deterrents to assure national security, economic and social stability, and personal information integrity. Create consistent information privacy laws and regulations across all organizations (government, private, for-profit, and non-profit) that eliminate gaps, inconsistencies, and overlaps. Regulate all technology-enabled organizations (e.g., internet platforms, online intermediaries, business-to-consumer platforms), not shifting sectors, so that organizations are subject to a uniform set of laws and regulations. Regulate all categories of information in the same way, regardless of the type of organization or sector that collects that information. Apply a baseline set of regulations to all types of information, regardless of the type of organization or sector collecting that information. Apply regulatory requirements to organizations according to their size and complexity, the nature of data covered, and the risk posed by exposing private information. All information (including third-party data transfers) needs sufficiently flexible protections to address emerging technologies and scientific evidence while serving the common good by balancing the demands of stakeholders and vested interests. The ubiquitous information and communication technologies (ICT) of today’s pervasive digital services, platforms, and marketplaces require a global governance perspective to address their societal and economic impacts: Harmonize laws and regulations across jurisdictions to protect individuals and assure the trustworthy flow of information across all boundaries—government, organizations, industry sectors, states, and countries. Aim to develop flexible regulatory structures that can quickly adapt to social and scientific realities and technical and economic policy challenges. Use forward-looking, collaborative mechanisms such as experimentation and learning, test-and-evolve, and post-doc effectiveness reviews. Incentivize specific outcomes that facilitate anticipating and adapting to rapid changes. State laws that become inconsistent with future comprehensive federal privacy standards may be preempted, while more stringent laws may remain. At a minimum, citizens' information protection rights should be comparable to those of citizens around the world—both current and future protections that may be established. Current European Council personal information protections include the ability to: be informed of what personal information is held and why access information held by an entity request updating or correcting of information request manual processing in lieu of automated or algorithmic processing request transfer of information to another entity withdraw prior consent to process data or object to specific situation consent request deleting personal information. Personal Information Protection Uniform privacy rights need to protect personal privacy and prevent known harm. Establish uniform information protections for personal and behavioral data that can be linked to an individual or devices. Prevent harmful uses of personal information by all information processors who collect, store, analyze, transfer, sell, etc. Expand the legal definition of “harm” to include physical, monetary, reputational, intangible, future, or other substantial injuries and to provide individuals the right to legal remedy. Assure that personal information collection, use, transfer, and disclosure for economic or societal purposes is consistent with the purpose for which individuals provide their data, and does not cause them harm. Shift the focus of information protection from individual self-management when submitting data (e.g., opt-in, obscure notice, and choice disclosures) to organizational stewardship in protecting individuals’ personal privacy. Expand personal information privacy definition to address rapidly changing information and communication technologies, accelerated networking between businesses, and automated collection and dissemination of data, which together subvert personally identifiable information, de-identification, re-identification, and data anonymization. Electronic Business and Social Media: Cybersecurity Responsibilities Organizations conducting electronic business and social media commercializing personal information both bear the responsibility for protecting information and must be liable for failure to protect individuals from harm. All organizations--including third-party receivers: Must protect individuals’ transferred information across multiple organizations to ensure end-use accountability. Have a duty to safely collect, use, and share personal, sensitive information. Should use comprehensive information risk assessments, take proactive measures to implement information security measures, and be held accountable for fulfilling these risk management obligations. Are held accountable for misuse of personal information by strengthening both state and federal laws, rule-making, and enforcement powers. We support the right of free speech for all. The digital tools of information and communication technology (such as algorithms and artificial intelligence) can selectively distort or amplify user-generated content. The resulting disinformation, digital manipulation, false claims, and/or privacy violations may endanger society or harm others. Compel private internet communication platforms (applications, social media, websites, etc.) to be responsible for moderating content. Define liability for damages and provide for enforcement for failure to moderate content. Economic Development Revenue Bonds - Adopted April 1983 The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the authority to issue Economic Development Revenue Bonds by the state, ports, and cities with more than 300,000 population. In issuing Economic Development Revenue Bonds, top priority should be given to those projects which diversify the economy and/or create jobs. However, consideration should also be given to assisting economically depressed areas and attracting industries to locate in Oregon. A possible unfair competition that might result from bond issuance should be examined at the local level. In addition to the Economic Development Revenue Bond program, the League of Women Voters of Oregon supports other state and local economic stimulants such as upgrading education at all levels and exploring various types of financing methods. Election Laws - Adopted 1987; Revised 1997 The League of Women Voters of Oregon recognizes that election procedures and voter information are critical elements to an informed and participating electorate. Registration Process. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes a variety of practices is necessary to provide the public with adequate information regarding where and how to register, under what circumstances and how to re-register, a notice of election dates, and the content of the ballot. The League supports: A registration process that is accessible, well-publicized and easily understood, as well as easy to implement and administer; Mail-in registration forms which are widely available; Oregon implementation of the National Voter Registration Act which includes registration process training for agency personnel and the designation of additional registration sites; Implementing a statewide centralized registration list; A registration cut-off requirement that does not disenfranchise otherwise qualified voters. Elections Process. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes elections should be conducted in a manner that encourages voter participation and supports: No more than four annual, regularly scheduled, election dates; A formula for cost-sharing between the state and the counties for the state portion of the primary and general elections; Evaluating the timing of the Oregon Primary; and Expediting the process for filling vacancies in federal offices. Voting Process. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes citizens are entitled to voting procedures that provide ease of ballot access and use and support: Use of vote-by-mail in all elections. Every effort should be made to preserve ballot secrecy to prevent fraud. Use of the permanent absentee ballot, provided methods and timelines for counting such ballots are improved, unless and until vote-by-mail in all elections is implemented; and Shortening the time between sending out mail ballots and their required return date. Voter Education Process. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the publication and distribution of a state Voters’ Pamphlet prior to statewide elections and believes that: The state has an obligation to provide voters with accurate information so that voters can make reasoned choices; All ballot measures must be included with official explanatory statements, an official advisory opinion on constitutionality, effects of a “yes” and “no ” vote, a fiscal impact statement, and summaries of the main arguments for and against the measures; The number of arguments for and against the measures to be included should be limited; The fees charged per page should more clearly reflect the actual costs; and Ballot titles and measures need to be stated in clear, concise language and should avoid confusing negatives. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports a mandatory certification procedure for all county chief elections officials Election Methods Adopted 2017 The League of Women Voters of Oregon reco gnizes that election methods affect how voters participate in our democracy, who can run for office, and who can get elected. Therefore, the League supports election methods that: Encourage voter participation and voter engagement. Encourage those with minority opinions to participate. Are easy to use. Are verifiable and auditable. Promote access to voting. Promote competitive elections. Promote sincere voting over strategic voting. Discourage negative campaigning. Prevent political manipulation (e.g. Gerrymandering). Are compatible with vote-by-mail elections. The League of Women Voters of Oregon does not believe that plurality voting is the best method for promoting democratic choice in all circumstances. For single-winner systems, the League supports ranked-choice voting; we do not support range or approval voting. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports election systems that elect policy-making bodies–legislatures, councils, commissions, and boards–that proportionally reflect the people they represent. We support systems that promote stable government, but we do not support systems that protect the two-party system. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports enabling legislation to allow local jurisdictions to explore alternative election methods. If an alternative election method is adopted, then funding for startup and voter education should be available. The League of Women Voters of Oregon does not support nonpartisan elections for state legislators. (Previous position) Adopted 2009 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that any election method should be evaluated on its ability to: Promote voter participation. Be simple and easy for voters to understand. Be verifiable and auditable. Promote access to voting. Promote competitive elections. Prevent political manipulation. Be compatible with vote-by-mail elections. The League supports enabling legislation to allow local jurisdictions to explore alternative election methods, e.g. instant runoff or fusion voting. If a local jurisdiction adopts an alternative election method, that jurisdiction should bear the costs of startup and voter education. Only after experience and evaluation at the local level should the state consider alternative election methods for statewide adoption. The League does not support nonpartisan elections for state legislators. Emergency Board - Adopted 1982 The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the use of t he appointed Emergency Board to provide fiscal adjustment between legislative sessions. The League endorses the practice of naming a majority of the members from the current Ways and Means Committee to the Emergency Board. However, balanced statewide representation should be required. The public should have the right to be heard by the Emergency Board. Its meetings should be publicized in advance and summary agendas should be readily available to the public. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that powers of the board should be reviewed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Areas to be reviewed should include: The definition of what constitutes an emergency; The discretionary ability of the board to make policy decisions in a forum where political accountability and public participation are limited. Since the position was adopted in 1982, opportunities for action have not arisen. Fiscal Policy – Tax System Adopted 1965-66, 1973; Revised 1971, 1973, 1979, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1999; Educational Update 1999* Evaluating Taxes . The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes any tax proposal should be evaluated with regard to its effect on the entire tax structure. The League supports the following criteria for evaluating taxes and tax systems. A tax system that is based on ability to pay, but that applies a benefits-received principle wherever reasonable and that recognizes the role of social expediency; A tax system that is equitable, adequate, stab le, easy to administer and as simple as possible; A tax system that takes into account the taxes levied by all levels of government covering the same tax base; A tax system that is flexible enough to adjust to social and economic changes (e.g., population shifts, development of new industry, demands for more services and changes in business cycles); A tax system that recognizes the individual’s responsibility for government services by providing for broad sharing of the tax burden. Fiscal Responsibility The League of Women Voters believes local government should have primary responsibility for financing non-school local government. Local services mandated by the state should have state funding. A tax limitation is justified if it provides safeguards in the regulation of state and local services and economy. A limitation is not desirable if it prevents provision of services, disrupts government functioning, inhibits progress or results in loss of local control. We believe economy should be achieved by efficiency and responsible administration. If cuts are necessary, preference should be given to cuts based on an established priority of services so that least essential services are reduced or eliminated first. Income Tax. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the income tax as the most equitable means of providing state revenue. The income tax should be progressive, compatible with federal law and should apply to the broadest possible segment of Oregonians. Sales Tax. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the adoption of a sales tax provided: The rate cannot be increased without approval of the voters; Regressivity is reduced through: a tax credit or rebate and exemptions for items such as food, rent and utilities. Property Tax. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the use of the local property tax for partially financing local government and local services. Exemptions to the General Property Tax The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes: Social values justify: exemptions to charitable, educational and benevolent organizations; exemptions to fraternal organizations only to the extent of actual charity performed; partial exemption of church property with fees to be paid for local government services directly benefiting the property, such as police and fire protection. Exemptions designed to create a favorable climate for attracting new industry should be competitive with those of other states. Economic values justify tax deferral and special assessment at less than real market value on farmlands and forest lands. Eligibility for an exemption should require: a verified statement of the taxpayer; proof of income from all individuals seeking an exemption on their homestead- if eligibility for the exemption is based on income. Exemption laws should be periodically reexamined to determine whether they are justified. Exemption of some classes of personal property is justified if a tax on them would be too difficult or costly to administer. School District Financing. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes: The major portion of the cost of public schools should be borne by the state. The state should provide sufficient funds to give each child an equal, adequate education. All specifically state mandated programs should be financed by the state. Local districts should be allowed funding alternatives to provide educational programs. Apart from state mandates, local control of the educational programs should be maintained. A stable state system for financing public schools is crucial for long range planning. Emergency Clause. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports removing the emergency clause restriction on revenue measures. The importance of such measures warrants: Either more support than a simple majority; or More signatures than currently required on a petition to refer. Initiative and Referendum Position - Adopted 1988; Revised 1996; Educational Update 2001* Statute Initiatives. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the constitutional right of Oregon citizens to propose or revise statutes through the direct initiative process. The League supports the following: Requiring a number of valid signatures not less than six (6) percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor at the last election at which a governor was elected for a term of four years; Requiring more than 25 signatures to file the prospective petition with the Secretary of State; Prohibiting legislative changes to an initiative statute for at least two years from its effective date, except to clarify implementation and to correct errors in form and style; Requiring an advisory opinion as to the constitutionality of each proposed initiative after it has qualified for the ballot. Such opinion should be published in the Voters’ Pamphlet; Limiting the time frame for collecting signatures to one year; Optional use of the indirect initiative. Constitutional Initiatives. The League of Women Voters of Oregon discourages amending the Oregon Constitution by the initiative process. If amendments by initiatives are allowed, the League supports the following restrictions: Requiring a number of valid signatures not less than ten (10) percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor at the last election at which a governor was elected for a term of four years; Requiring more than 25 signatures to file the prospective petition with the Secretary of State; Establishing a formula for a geographic distribution of signatures in order to reflect statewide interest in a measure; Requiring an advisory opinion as to the constitutionality of each proposed initiative after it has qualified for the ballot. Such opinion should be published in the Voters’ Pamphlet; Limiting the time frame for collecting signatures to one year; Requiring more than a simple majority of the total votes cast for the measure for passage; Exempting the Oregon Bill of Rights and revenue measures from the initiative process; and Using the indirect initiative process and scheduling discussion of a qualified initiative first on the agenda of the next legislative session. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the Oregon petition referendum process as provided in the Oregon Constitution. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that ballot titles should be stated in clear, concise language and should avoid confusing negatives. The League of Women Voters of Oregon opposes paying petition circulators by the signature. Paid petitioners must be required to identify themselves as such, personally and on the signature sheets. With reasonable restrictions, petitioners should be allowed to collect signatures in highly visible privately and publicly owned locations. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports publication and distribution of a state Voters’ Pamphlet prior to statewide elections and believes that: The state has an obligation to provide the voters with accurate information so that voters can make reasoned choices; All ballot measures must be included with official explanatory statements, an official advisory opinion on constitutionality, effects of a “yes” and “no” vote, and summaries of the main arguments for and against the measures; The number of arguments for and against the measures to be included should be limited; and The fees charged per page should more clearly reflect the actual costs. *Updated in 2001 for background information only – no position change. Recall Elections - Adopted February 2025 1. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that local and county elections operations must have adequate funding and staffing levels sufficient to meet public needs and provide for strong, ongoing voter education. 2. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes all elected officials should be subject to recall, but not during their first six months in office. 3. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that persons seeking the recall of a public official should state the reasons and specify grounds including malfeasance (acting unlawfully while performing duties), nonfeasance (failure to perform duties), serious crimes, lack of fitness, corruption, or incompetence. The grounds on which an elected official may be recalled should be described in Oregon statute. 4. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes an adequate recall election schedule should provide time for voter education and full participation in the election. The timeline should: a. Allow elections officials to provide ballots to overseas and uniformed-service members at least 45 days before an election. b. Allow new voters adequate time to be notified of their requirement to register before an election in which they wish to cast ballots. c. Allow time for elections officials, advocates, and civic organizations to engage prospective voters. d. Allow no more than 90 days to obtain signatures on a recall petition. 5. To ensure adequate time for elections officials and staff to oversee signature verification and prepare ballots, and to contain elections-related costs, the League of Women Voters of Oregon supports restricting recall elections to one of the four election dates identified in Oregon law. 6. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that recall petitions should provide detailed information about how seats vacated by a successful recall are to be filled after the election. This information should be provided by elections staff. Seats should be vacated for the shortest time practical, with a scheduled election allowing voters to choose their public official. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports filling vacated positions by interim appointment rather than through simultaneous election in which the proposed recall of a public official appears on the ballot alongside candidates competing simultaneously for that very office. 7. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that recall petition circulators should be required to be Oregon residents and that these circulators should wear visible identification indicating whether they are paid or volunteers. 8. The League of Women Voters supports disclosure of the sources and amounts of campaign-related funding for recall proponents and opponents, with such disclosure beginning early and occurring regularly and in a timely way, so that voters can learn about groups involved as petitions circulate. Oregon State Courts - Adopted 1979, 2007 The League of Women Voters of Oregon affirms: The separation of powers provided in Article III, Section 1 of the Oregon Constitution; The treatment of the Oregon Judicial Department, the third branch of our state government, as a separate, independent, co-equal branch of state government. The League believes that: The State of Oregon should provide access to its courts that meets the diverse needs of all people who use the state courts. Judges must be free to decide cases based upon the facts of the particular case and the applicable law, independent of the influence of public opinion and political and partisan pressures. In order to improve the budget process and funding for the Oregon Judicial Department, the League supports: Adequate and stable funding to perform the Department’s core functions and critical services; Funding by the Legislature of mandated programs or procedures for the state courts; An independent compensation commission to set judicial compensation of state court judges. The state should ensure that counties are able to provide adequate court facilities, maintenance of those facilities, and security equipment and services. The League believes that the following criteria should be used in evaluating a system of selecting judges in Oregon. The system should: Be as free from political influence as possible; Encourage and attract the most competent and experienced people; Include a method of evaluating judges and judicial candidates. To preserve judicial impartiality and fairness and to protect the public’s perception of this impartiality and fairness, the League believes that efforts to obtain campaign finance reform in Oregon should include the financing of judicial campaigns. The League supports alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs (such as arbitration, mediation, and settlement conferences) as a way to resolve disputes in appropriate cases, recognizing that, in some cases, a trial will be necessary. In order to operate effective ADR programs, Oregon’s courts should, at a minimum, have: Adequate facilities in which to conduct mediation and arbitration processes; Availability of trained and qualified arbitrators and mediators; Financial assistance for those unable to afford access to ADR; Adequate and stable funding. The League encourages the development of specialty courts (such as commercial court) and problem-solving courts (such as drug and mental health courts) within the Oregon Judicial Department. In order to operate effective specialty and problem-solving courts, Oregon’s courts need: Adequate court staff; Facilities in which to hold hearings; Availability of service providers and outpatient and residential treatment; Adequate and stable funding. Open Primaries - Adopted June 2023 Adopted position is based on Concurrence with the LWV Maryland position LWVOR supports more open primary elections, either through: a. Party primary elections in which unaffiliated voters as well as party members would be permitted to vote in a primary election to choose the nominees of the parties; or b. Individual candidate-based primary elections in which all voters choose among all candidates from all parties on the same ballot with the candidates’ party affiliations listed. The subsequent general election ballot would include either i. predetermined number of candidates without regard to partisan affiliation; or ii. those candidates receiving a predetermined percentage of the total primary vote Redistricting - Adopted 2007 Congressional and legislative redistricting should advance the fundamental purposes of representative democracy and a republican form of government by affording the people a meaningful choic e in electing their representatives and holding the government accountable to the people. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that the Oregon legislative and congressional redistricting system should be efficient, adequately funded, based on well-defined criteria, subject to a reasonable and effective timetable, and have an open and public process. Any redistricting plan should assure that voters are effectively able to hold their public officials accountable, responsible, and responsive, and be based on the following criteria: Adhere to all federal constitutional and legal requirements, such as that every district should have equal population, be contiguous, and meet the requirements of the Voting Rights Act; Promote competitiveness and partisan fairness; Consider other criteria, such as respect for political subdivisions, communities of interest, and geographic barriers. Any redistricting plan should be developed independently of the Legislature in a nonpartisan manner with substantial public input. The Legislature may be afforded an opportunity to review the plan and accept or reject it. The Oregon Supreme Court should promptly review and rule on any challenge to a redistricting plan and require adjustments if the criteria have not been met. Oregon should conduct redistricting only once during each decade follo wing the federal census. Natural Resources National Position The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that natural resources should be managed as interrelated parts of life-supporting ecosystems. Resources should be conserved and protected to assure their future availability. Pollution of these resources should be controlled in order to preserve the physical, chemical and biological integrity of ecosystems and to protect public health. Agriculture National Position: Statement of Position on Federal Agriculture Policy, as Announced by National Board, October 1988: The LWVUS believes that federal agriculture policies should promote adequate supplies of food and fiber at reasonable prices to consumers, farms that are economically viable, farm practices that are environmentally sound and increased reliance on the free market to determine prices. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE . Federal policy should encourage a system of sustainable, regenerative agricultural production that moves toward an environmentally sound agricultural sector. This includes promoting stewardship to preserve and protect the country’s human and natural agricultural resources. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT . Agricultural research, development and technical assistance should continue to be a major federal function. Resources should be targeted to developing sustainable agricultural practices and addressing the needs of mid-size farms. AGRICULTURAL PRICES . The LWV US supports an increasing reliance on the free market to determine the price of agricultural commodities and the production decisions of farmers, in preference to traditional price support mechanisms. AGRICULTURE AND TRADE . U.S. efforts should be directed toward expanding export markets for our agricultural products while minimizing negative effects on developing nations’ economies. Consistent with the League’s trade position, multilateral trade negotiations should be used to reduce other countries’ barriers and/or subsidies protecting their agricultural products. FARM CREDIT. Farmers should have access to credit with reasonable terms and conditions. Federally provided farm credit is essential to maintaining the viability of farm operations when the private sector is unable or unwilling to provide the credit farmers need. Of these policies, the League believes the most essential for the future of agriculture are: encouraging sustainable agriculture; providing research, information and technical assistance to agricultural producers; and increasing reliance on the free market to determine prices. Air Quality - Adopted May 1968 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that all segments of society (government, industry, agriculture and individual citizens) must share responsibility for improved air pollution abatement practices. In more specific terms, the League supports: Adequate standards for control of all sources of pollution and strict enforcement of established rules and regulations; A comprehensive, coordinated program for management of air as a natural resource; Adequate financing for air pollution abatement programs; More research to determine causes and effects of air pollution and methods of control, better coordination of research programs, and increased sharing of information. League agrees: Individuals, too, must recognize their responsibility in abatement programs and be willing to accept restrictions on their own activities, particularly with respect to automobiles and backyard burning. Effective public education programs are necessary if the public is to: recognize the seriousness of the problem; and appreciate the necessity to support improved pollution abatement. In general, industry must be prepared to pay the cost of abatement for its own pollution, but members recognize the usefulness of some form of financial incentives: to assist small or distressed industries; and to prevent undue delay in obtaining relief from pollution. The members prefer loans and direct grants over forms of tax relief. Polluters should bear the cost of pollution abatement in proportion to their contribution to the problem. (Actually everyone will pay, whether in taxes, in product cost, or in bearing the consequence of inadequate pollution abatement.) In considering Oregon’s relationship with other governmental units, League concludes: Because both the desirable air quality and the problems of pollution vary from one area to another: The state has a right to set higher standards for pollution than those set by the federal government. The state has a responsibility to set higher standards for pollution when local conditions demand it. Federal standards in all cases should be recognized as a minimum below which state standards cannot be set. As air pollution does not recognize state boundaries, participation in interstate compacts is desirable in order to control pollution on an airshed basis. Climate Change National Position On Climate Change : LWVUS supports a price on carbon emissions that will increase in stages, as part of an overall program to improve energy efficiency and to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, fast enough to avoid serious damage to the climate system. Revised June 5, 2016: LWVUS supports aggressive efforts to restore balance to the planet’s climate systems by reducing the atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million (ppm), the upper safe limit. The target set by scientists requires an immediate 8% global greenhouse gas emissions annually; in conjunction with carbon dioxide storage through mass reforestation, and soil management. Further, we support transitioning off of fossil fuels to alternative forms of energy: wind, hydroelectric, wave, tidal, geothermal, and solar; and prioritizing a just transition to all Americans. In 2016, LWVUS passed 3 resolutions: LWVUS consider signing onto an Amicus Brief with the 21 youth plaintiffs from Our Children’s Trust; LWVUS support the United States ratification of the UN COP 21 Paris Agreement; LWVUS should continue working for full implementation of the EPA Clean Power Plan, especially at the state level, as a first step, and should call on the White House to implement an updated science-based Climate Action Plan that stabilizes global warming by bringing CO2 levels down to no more than 350 ppm by 2100. Offshore and Coastal Management - Adopted May 1990, 2013 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes responsible and responsive government management of the public’s coastal and nearshore natural resources shall be based upon: A complete environmental assessment, cumulative impact analysis, and baseline data specific to Oregon. Recognition of coastal states and local government’s rights, jurisdictions, and responsibilities to preser ve and protect marine and coastal environment and economy. Federal government’s offshore activities must be consistent with Oregon’s approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports uniformity of regulations governing the coastal management zone, with opportunity for public input. Jurisdictions should have the ability to enhance regulations to better address local conditions. The League supports the development and maintenance of local comprehensive plans and development codes. Funding should be adequate for effective management and enforcement and should come from a variety of sources. The League opposes any revision, interpretation, or application of Oregon’s established marine policy that would diminish Land Conservation and Development Commission Goal 19’s strong environmental and natural resources conservation policy giving clear priority to long-term renewable resource uses. The League of Women Voters of Oregon opposes oil and gas exploration and development within the state’s territorial sea, and requests the state to oppose any federal lease sales within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone off the Oregon coast. The ecological integrity, renewable natural resources, and beneficial uses of Oregon’s ocean water must be protected. The League of Women Voters of Oregon opposes exploration and development of marine minerals within the state’s territorial sea. The League supports academic research that would not adversely affect the ecological integrity, renewable natural resources, and beneficial uses of the state’s territorial sea. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports a state policy that calls on the federal government to ban the exploration and development of marine minerals with the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone off the Oregon coast. Should a ban not be effected, the following must be required: An unbiased, credible scientific E.I.S. should be completed prior to any offshore mineral exploration or recovery operation. Offshore mineral activities should be evaluated for degradation of the marine environment, risk to ocean fisheries, and coastal erosion problems. A complete socioeconomic impact statement of offshore developments effect on the states and coastal economy should be made. The League of Women Voters of Oregon affirms the public’s right to be completely informed, actively involved and assured the opportunity to participate in decisions about offshore exploration and development, as well as onshore facilities that support offshore development. The League of Women Voters of Oregon endorses adequate industry-financed oil spill contingency funds, compensation funds, and company bonding for marine mineral mining activities to cover claims for damage caused by their operations, onshore support facilities, and transporting vessels. Governments and other claimants should be reimbursed for, but not limited to, the following: Oil spill clean-up costs. Loss of natural resources or loss of use of natural resources. Impairment of earning capacity. Damage to real or personal property and personal injury. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports a policy which allows the state to terminate or modify a lease for environmental endangerment or for public safety within the state’s territorial sea. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the creation and operation of marine reserves and protected areas on the Oregon Coast. Siting and management of reserves should reflect a variety of factors, including habitat, species diversity, fisheries and tourism, with sound science being the most critical. The reserves should have identified goals, and continuous funding should come from multiple sources. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports active research into ocean energy technologies. Research should incorporate evaluation of impacts on marine habitats and the coastal economy. Funding should be from multiple sources. Commercial deployment should be allowed only after adequate scientific research is completed and regulations have been adopted. Monitoring should be ongoing with necessary actions and modifications taken to protect the marine environment. Commercial operations should agree to bear the cost of remediating and restoring any environmental damage. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports actions to restore and preserve estuaries to assure they function effectively in the long term. Measures could include additional reserves, streamside protection, planting, removal of invasive species, scientific research, restoration, and response to climate change. Funding should be from multiple sources. Estuary restoration should encourage education and volunteer involvement. The League recognizes that dredging may be necessary to keep deep-water channels open for maritime commerce. Prior to activity, environmental assessments must be completed to ensure protection of habitat. Design and execution should minimize damage to natural habitats. Recognizing that mining affects water quantity, quality, and habitat, mining practices should be strictly regulated to minimize damage and require restoration. In some instances, where preserving water quality and habitat is vital, mining should be banned. Energy Conservation - Adopted May 1973; Educational Update 2003* The members of the League of Women Voters of Oregon support state p olicies which promote long range planning for conservation and wise development of energy sources. The League believes the public should have an opportunity to influence decisions on the development of particular sources and the citing of specific installations. League supports: A governmental agency to evaluate power needs estimates and plan source development. This agency should include representatives of: utility companies, the general public, and all levels of government. Governmental programs to provide public education and information to encourage information participation in all power decisions, both for production and conservation. The League believes that in any decision to build a power plant: The most important consideration is environmental quality; Of lesser importance, but to be taken into account are: size of electric bills and prices of goods, industrial development, cultural standards. The League supports the following conservation measures: Rate structures encouraging the wise use of energy. To this end League favors: a low base rate for essential use, above this, higher rates to discourage waste. Government funding of research and development efforts to discover new technologies: to provide efficient methods for energy production and use with minimal environmental damage, emphasis should be given to renewable resources. Governmental programs to provide public education and information. Building codes which will specify standards of design and insulation that minimize waste of energy used for heating, cooling, and lighting. The League believes that state or region should be allowed higher standards for nu-clear plants than those set by the federal government. *Updated in 2003 for background information only – no position change. Nuclear Energy - Adopted May 1980 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that the nuclear power program must be managed to protect current and future generations and to maintain an environment beneficial to life. Technical uncertainties must be publicly recognized and planned for, Responsibility for establishing and maintaining a waste system must not be deferred to future generations, and Effective coordination among all levels of government – federal, state, local – and the private sector is imperative in planning and carrying out programs for transportation, waste storage, and safety, with responsibility and authority clearly designated. Forests - Adopted at Convention, May 2021 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes: That all benefits of the forests—ecological, human and economic—are inextricably interconnected. Healthy forests are essential to habitat for a diversity of plant and animal life, to the hydrologic cycle, and to carbon storage to mitigate global warming. In addition, healthy forests are essential to a forest products industry with the jobs and goods they provide, and to the economic and aesthetic values of their recreational opportunities. Therefore, The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports: Laws and policies to ensure that forest management (for timber extraction, recreation or any other activity) is carried out in a manner that will sustain healthy forests, streams and habitats. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that the following are essential elements of an adequate forest practices policy: The public must be informed and involved in the decision-making process in the development of regulations. There must be adequate public notice of forest practices permit applications, hearings, meetings and proposed actions. Public review and comment at each phase of policy and regulation development should be required. Citizens and stakeholders must be represented on the decision-making bodies; There must be authority and funding for enforcement of regulations. Existing land use and forest practices regulations must be monitored and enforced, and should be responsive to changing scientific knowledge. There must be coordination of regulations for public and private lands among governmental entities; Riparian zones are an integral part of the forest ecosystem and must be regulated adequately to protect the streams and the wildlife dependent upon the streams; (stet.) Education should be made available to timber owners on scientifically sound forest practices with the establishment of a small landowners’ agency for this purpose; Environmental values of the lands proposed for trade must be considered before the economic values; Trained appraisers, with public oversight, must be used. The right of appeal must be available to the public; Full accounting of all costs, including cumulative ecological impacts, of timber harvests and other forest uses must be considered in forest activity decisions; Forest management must be responsive to scientific research and knowledge and should include: mapping, classification and protection of all streams, more and better data—including total watershed analysis, evaluation of cumulative effects of various activities in the forest in the consideration of individual forest practice permits, and planning for sustainability of forest ecosystems. 9. The State should consider ecological protections the most important factor in deciding which activities to allow on state forest lands; 10. Motorized activities should be restricted and in separate areas from non-motorized activities Forest roads must be built, maintained and decommissioned to have the least impact on the forest ecosystems. Some areas on state lands should be roadless; 11. Educate consumers about the human and ecological values of our forests as well as the opportunities and benefits of more efficient use of forest products, recycling and the use of alternatives to wood; 12. Fund independent scientific research that would include improved forest practices and ecologically sound alternatives to the use of wood; 13. Tax benefits and compensation should be considered to encourage small landowners to manage their forests in an ecologically sustainable manner; 14. Oregon schools must be fully funded with less reliance on timber harvests; and Trust lands should remain in public ownership. Hard Rock Mining - Adoption of this position was ratified by the LWVOR Board May 2022. The League of Women Voters of Oregon recognizes society's need for key minerals, and also the potential harmful environmental, health, and human impacts that mining for these minerals can produce. Currently there is little hard rock mining in Oregon, and much of Oregon’s topography is not well-suited to mining. However, minerals such as gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and uranium have been mined in the past, and these and new minerals such as lithium may be mined in the future in Ore gon. Hard rock mining in Oregon is governed by a complex and interconnected set of federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and permitting processes, which include provisions for environmental protection, economic evaluation, and reclamation of mining sites. The League supports an approach to the overall regulation and oversight of hard rock mining that will: Modify leasing and permitting decision criteria to eliminate the dominance of mineral rights over alternate public land uses, environmental protection, and of ecosystem services such as biodiversity and climate regulation. Improve leasing, permitting, and oversight processes to assure ample opportunities for public disclosure and stakeholder comment. Modernize standards for policy review to ensure adequate protection of health, safety, other industries, air, water, habitats, and ecosystem services, and require mining operations on public lands to comply with all environmental regulations. Establish procedures to protect specific areas of critical environmental concern, for example, by allowing states, political subdivisions, or stakeholder groups to petition to exclude mining in special areas, and/or provide for expedited review of areas that may be inappropriate for mining. Further, the League would support reforms to federal mining laws and practices that will: Effectively repeal the directive in the Hard Rock Mining Law of 1872 that hard rock mining take precedence over all other uses of public lands. Strengthen and enforce mining financial responsibility requirements, so that they (a) compensate taxpayers for industry resource extraction on public lands, by establishing a system of permitting, leasing and royalty fees for domestic and foreign mining exploration, extraction, and revenues; and (b)establish funding mechanisms and procedures to reclaim mining sites, restore ecosystems adversely affected by mining operations, remediate environmental degradation, and provide for long-term monitoring. Finally, the League supports changes in Oregon's laws and practices that will: Strengthen existing statutory provisions for mine operators' reclamation bonds or alternative security, particularly as they relate to long-term site care and monitoring needs and ensure that permits issued by the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries include the costs of department oversight and review. Enhance opportunities for public input concerning mining on public lands, and adopt policies that support and encourage public participation in actions that may impact the State’s environmental resources and local economies. Promote and incentivize recycling programs that reduce consumption and support reuse and recycling of non-renewable virgin metal minerals, in order to reduce the mining and extraction of these materials and to protect and conserve other environmental and natural resources; adopt legislation that establishes metal recycling patterned after Oregon’s E-Cycles Program. Among the objectives of a metal recycling program would be: (a) developing consumer information and education on the economic and environmental value of reuse and recycling of metals; (b) providing free recycling at widely dispersed collection sites throughout the State; (c) promoting state and regional processing sites for refurbishment, recovery, and reuse of metal materials; and (d) funding DEQ administration and monitoring compliance at collection and processing sites. Hazardous Materials - No national position at this time Land Use - Adopted May 1995; Educational Update 2002* Citizen Participation Citizen participation, education, communication and ongoing reevaluation are essential elements in the comprehensive planning process. Recognizing the need for effective citizen participation, the League of Women Voters of Oregon believes the following factors should be considered in establishing citizen advisory groups in all jurisdictions within the state involved in land use planning: Representation on a broad socioeconomic , geographic and occupational basis. Appointment for a specific project with specified goals and terms, and provision for an adequate orientation to the purposes of the agency. Provision for communication among citizens, citizen advisory groups and planning agencies. The League of Women Vote rs of Oregon supports appointment of Citizen Involvement Committees (CICs), separate from planning commissions, to assist local governing bodies with their citizens’ involvement programs. Regional and Urban Growth The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports a system of local government based upon constitutional home rule for metropolitan districts, counties and cities. The League recognizes certain principles of good local government. These are: Democratic representation and control. Basic simplicity with power to plan for future growth or change. Consideration of the interdependence of land use, transportation and environmental quality in all comprehensive plans. The League supports the establishment of a regional government in an area where planning and delivery of services can be more efficiently and economically provided by such a government. Statewide Planning The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) as the statewide planning agency. We also support the 19 statewide land use goals. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports policies that promote both conservation and development of land as a natural resource, in accordance with Oregon’s land use goals. Applying this principle, the League believes: The state should have the prime responsibility for establishing statewide planning goals and for supervising and coordinating comprehensive land use plans, with participation by citizens and by local and regional governments. The state, with citizen participation, should identify, regulate and enforce areas of critical statewide concern. Consideration of accurate information concerning water availability and quality should be a prime factor when making land use decisions. Taxation and assessment policies should support comprehensive land use plans. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports protection of private property rights commensurate with overall consideration of public health and environmental prot ection. *Updated in 2002 for background information only – no position change. Parks - Adopted January 1999 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that a parks system is an appropriate function of state government and should provide the following services: Acquire, protect and preserve natural, scenic, cultural, historic, and wildlife sites and other resources; Provide camping and a variety of other recreational opportunities, consistent with the natural environment; Offer interpretive and educational information and programs regarding the history, culture, and natural resources of the state and the features of specific parklands; Protect public ownership of beaches; Secure affordable and safe access to parks and ocean beaches. PROGRAM. The LWVOR believes that to be effective the Oregon parks system must have: Competent personnel in sufficient numbers; Clear assignment of responsibility; Adequate, stable funding; Coordination with different agencies and levels of government; Well-defined channels for citizen input and review; Consideration of local concerns when consistent with statewide public interest; Reasonable protection from crime and vandalism; Cooperation and coordination with the private sector when in the public interest; and Long-range planning. FUNDING . The LWVOR supports a balance and varied mixture of revenues for Oregon’s parks with the General Fund providing basic support for departmental operations. While the LWVOR believes user fees are sometimes appropriate, the League opposes them for non-intensive, brief visits. The sale of annual use permits is encouraged. Other appropriate revenue sources include but are not limited to recreational vehicle and automobile registration fees, lottery funds, and certain specific charges, such and bottle taxes. The Oregon parks system should actively seek donations of land, funds, facilities and services. SERVICE PROVISIONS . The LWVOR advocates the efficient provision of services in state parks under state supervision and control. In general, the League is opposed to the private management of parks but supports well-supervised contracts for services with a reasonable return for the Oregon parks system. Use of correction-system and volunteer labor is supported if it is well supervised. PLANNING. The LWVOR believes that the Oregon parks system requires a long-range strategic plan that includes periodic evaluation and is adequately funded. Such a plan should give high priority to: Preservation and maintenance of existing parks; Protection and expansion of public access to ocean beaches; Acquisition of additional park resources; Provision of campground facilities and day-use areas; and Protection of scenic waterways. Pesticides and Other Biocides - Study Completed 2021 - Position Adopted 2023 The League of Women Voters of Oregon affirms that pesticides and other biocides should be managed as interrelated parts of life-supporting ecosystems, and their use should be controlled in order to preserve the physical, chemical and biological integrity of ecosystems and to protect public health, and that agriculture policies should promote farm practices that are environmentally sound and sustainable. LWVOR Supports: • Initial pesticide and biocide testing for registration has proven insufficient for preventing harm. We recommend increased testing by governmental agencies and third parties. We must identify and weigh benefits that balance safety versus toxicity, protecting food security while safeguarding public health and the environment. • Decisions for testing should be based upon a timeframe between 5 to10 years, or as new scientific data dictates. Varying weather conditions can greatly influence pesticide drift, impacting nearby bodies of water, schools, and communities including agricultural workers. The registrant of the Pesticide or Biocide currently bears the burden of proof for safety however the current regimen of tests is insufficient. • When approving the use of a Pesticide or Biocide we must consider: Risk to humans, animals, the environment, economic harm, cost to business, impact on food security, and the spread of invasive species and disease. • Pesticide labels should be improved to include: Regulations restricting use, hazards of use, best practices of use to minimize harm. Labels should be clearly written and easy to see and understand in multiple languages and use graphics to clarify explanations. • Federal and state agencies bear the responsibility for pesticide policy, based on research by pesticide manufacturers. These government agencies should also contribute to pesticide research with support from other groups. • We support using adaptive pesticide management, focusing on continual observation of current regulatory practice outcomes. As scientific advances reveal environmental and health impacts, as well as impacts on food security, the system should include the ability to rapidly react to new risk assessment data. 2019: The League supported SB 853 and HB 3058, which related to pesticides, including prohibiting chlorpyrifos and requiring licensing for neonicotinoids. They did not pass. Seismic Risks - Adopted March 1995 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that all levels of government share the responsibility of coordinating, implementing and funding an effective program to mitigate Oregon’s earthquake and tsunami hazards. Priority must be given to mitigation that protects human life and safeguards critical life support systems. The League supports: Educating the public about the grave significance of Oregon’s earthquake and tsunami threat and encouraging preparedness. Improving the safety of transportation systems and establishing alternate routes around bridges and overpasses which are likely to be unsafe after an earthquake or tsunami. Establishing tsunami warning signals and evacuation routes. Evaluating dams that threaten population centers and taking remedial actions, such as reinforcing dams, and developing maps and downstream notification procedures. LWVOR supports as essential elements of an effective earthquake and tsunami program: Comprehensive education efforts: All school children should be taught to understand Oregon’s earthquake and tsunami hazards and how to respond to various situations and conditions that may arise. Schools’ earthquake and tsunami plans, education and drills should be monitored and analyzed for adequacy. Improved preparedness: Federal, state, and local chain of command should be established and fully coordinated. The emergency communication system should be enhanced and regularly tested. Emergency Services should be accessible and housed in safe buildings. Citizens should be encouraged to develop emergency plans, including supply kits. When citing critical facilities, tsunami run up and inundation as well as seismic factors such as severe ground shaking, liquefaction, massive landslide potential, and subsidence should be considered. Geological reports identifying property at risk should be on file and accessible to the public. Property that poses extreme hazards should be designated as unbuildable. Solid Waste - No national position at this time. Water Policy – Quality and Quantity - Adopted April 2011; Replaced positions on Water Policy and Planning (adopted January 1977; revised March 1985) and Water Quality (adopted January 1969) The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that water is a resource that should be managed for the benefit of the public and as sustainable habitat for all life forms. The League supports Oregon state policies and statutes that promote comprehensive long-range planning for conservation and management of ground and surface water and the improvement of water quality. Regulating agencies that govern the protection and conservation of water should be transparent and provide the public easy access to information. The League supports management approaches that maximize interagency communication to include but are not limited to: Uniform definitions of “beneficial uses” and other terminology for both quality and quantity management, Coordination of activities including water allocation, measurement, monitoring/ testing, enforcement of water law and the promotion of water conservation, Well-defined statutory enforcement procedures and the funding to protect water resources held in common, and Recognition of the variability of local/basin/watershed quality and quantity needs. The League recognizes the application of historic prior appropriations of water but supports modifications in order to accomplish the following: Consider both in-stream and out-of-stream beneficial uses of water, Facilitate changes from one beneficial use of water to another, Provide incentives for water user conservation, Incorporate evolving scientific understanding of natural water systems in waste management, Develop priority uses for water in times of shortage, and Expand protection of in-stream beneficial uses such as minimum perennial stream flow. The League believes that the interdependence of land use planning and water planning must be recognized and required at all levels of government: Local comprehensive plans, watershed plans, basin plans, state and regional plans should be coordinated and complementary. Roles and responsibilities of all decision makers and agencies affecting water resource and quality issues should be clearly defined. The League believes that all planning for ground and surface water should include consideration for both the quality of the water and the availability of water to meet the beneficial uses. Planning at all levels should consider existing water rights and current and projected uses. The League acknowledges that this may be best accomplished at the watershed/basin level if adequate funding and professional staffing are available. Basin/ watershed water management should be efficient and economical, responsive to public need, flexible to allow for changes over time, and lead to conservation and allocation of the resource in the public interest. Transfers of water between basins should require coordination with planning and water use in both basins. The League recognizes that effective planning for water protection and use is most effective with a complete inventory of the water resource including all domestic wells and encourages moving toward this goal. Priority efforts should be directed to geographic areas with identified problems and vulnerabilities. The League opposes degradation of all of Oregon’s surface and ground water. The League supports policies and legislation that integrate water quality into resource management and include but are not limited to standards for: Potable water and drinking water treatment facilities, Placement and inspection of septic tanks and alternative individual treatment systems, In-stream surface water quality for recreational use, including primary contact sports, commercial and sport fishing, and habitat protection, Ground water quality for recognized beneficial uses, Agricultural, municipal, forestry and industrial wastewater discharge and runoff, Uniform water quality testing protocols– updated as scientific methodologies improve, Permitting and enforcement procedures with agency funding adequate to ensure timely compliance, Adequate, well maintained sewers and sewage treatment facilities and Control and treatment of runoff from non-pervious surfaces. The League recognizes that conservation strategies for surface and ground water, including but not limited to incentives, regulations and rationing in emergency situations, are needed to meet future demand. Individuals, agriculture, municipalities, forestry and industry should be encouraged to develop practices to reduce water usage and minimize pollution. Support should be provided for upgrading and maintaining the equipment necessary for water conservation. The League supports the need to build resiliency and innovation into water planning in order to address climate change impacts. Public involvement should be encouraged throughout the water management and planning processes. The processes should be transparent and include educational components. The League acknowledges that all water users must share in the cost of water management. Rate payers should have primary responsibility for infrastructure maintenance, delivery and conservation. The state should have primary responsibility for planning, research, data collection and public outreach. Permit fees should be a significant contributor to the development of infrastructure. Water Resources of the Columbia River and the Columbia River Task Force Adopted 1979 In order to meet the present and future water needs within the Columbia River Basin, the League of Women Voters believes comprehensive planning on a basin-wide basis for conservation, development, and management of the water is essential to the optimum utilization of our water resources. Machinery is needed which will: Provide coordinated planning and administration among federal, state, and other agencies; Establish a process for resolving conflicts among uses; Establish procedures which provide information and an opportunity for citizen participation in policy decisions affecting the directions which water resources development will take. The federal government has a necessary role in financing water resources development, but state and local governments and private users should share such costs, as far as possible, based on benefits received and the ability to pay. The League of Women Voters believes that wise planning for the use of water in the Columbia River Basin requires an inventory of the water resource within the Basin. This inventory should include all water-related information including: ground and surface water sources, viable water rights, current use, and projected future needs. The inventory should be readily available to concerned agencies and the general public. The League also believes that minimum stream flows should be established as a public right and maintained on all streams in the Columbia River Basin. Social Policy Adult Corrections Adopted August 1983 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that a full range of correctional programs should exist for adult offenders. The League strongly favors increased use of alternatives to incarceration where possible. The League supports alternatives at all stages of the criminal justice process, including but not limited to: pre-trial diversions, employment and educational programs, restitution, treatment centers for mental illness and substance abuse. The League strongly supports community-based programs such as those offered through the Community Corrections Act, especially those which allow inmates to be partially or wholly self-supporting. If more facilities are needed, the League favors: Minimum security regional treatment and/or program focused facilities. Adequate staffing and program must be part of any facility within the corrections system. Prison programs should provide each inmate with: educational and vocational training, opportunities for meaningful work, and adequate medical and mental health care. Maximum security prisons are needed for violent criminals judged dangerous to society. The League believes that comprehensive transitional programs are essential for successful completion of rehabilitation for each inmate released or paroled from a correctional facility. The League supports the adoption of sentencing guidelines that set parameters for judges throughout the state in order to reduce disparity in sentencing. Judges should be responsible for determining the length of sentences. The League supports continuation of the Parole Board. Child Care: Adopted March 1989; Updated Position 2025 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that child care is a social and economic issue that reaches beyond the family into the community. Quality child care needs to be available, accessible and affordable to all families for children of all ages and with differing needs. The League of Women Voters supports a diverse child care system to accommodate different parental choices and needs. Such a system may include day care centers, group homes, and family day care homes. The State of Oregon should establish appropriate standards to ensure that high quality care exists in all settings. For centers and group homes: these standards should address facilities, staff qualifications, and number of children served. Program, parent/care giver communication, administration and transportation should be included for centers and may also be considered for group homes. There should be flexible guidelines for family day care homes because of the unique character of these facilities. The State of Oregon should enforce mandatory regulations by funding a sufficient number of inspectors. The State of Oregon should set requirements for adequate training for care givers and ensure those training opportunities are available. This could include state provision of training and/or state incentives for others to provide training. City and county governments should participate in enforcing health and fire standards. Affordable child care should be available and accessible for children with differing needs and in various age groups. While parents have the primary responsibility for choosing child care, a coordinated effort between parents and government, together with providers, employers, and private groups is necessary to deliver quality child care at an affordable price. The State of Oregon should: Provide financial assistance for child care expenses to low- and middle-income families based on need. Such assistance could include tax credits for parents with a ceiling based on income. Support resource and referral programs. Encourage employer involvement in the child care system. Encourage development of school-age child care programs. Parents in job training, in school, with special-needs children and/or needing respite care services should be eligible for financial assistance for child care based on demonstrated need. Child caregivers should be awarded recognition commensurate with their responsibilities. The State of Oregon should take a leadership role in elevating the professional status of child caregivers and ensuring adequate compensation. National Position (adopted in 1988): “Support programs, services, and policies at all levels of government to expand the supply of affordable, quality child care for all who need it, in order to increase access to employment and to prevent and reduce poverty.” Updated Position Adopted February 2025 Administration and Organization: Oregon should have a coordinating organization to provide overall planning for care and enrichment for children and youth from birth through high school during non-school time. Oregon must periodically conduct an in-depth cost/benefit analysis of K-12 childcare programs that includes economic benefits to the economy vs. cost to taxpayers for the public and for the Legislature. Oregon should provide subsidized and stable funding for afterschool and summer programs that include education, enrichment, and experiential learning. Oregon should provide startup funds for childcare, after school, and summer programs. Reimbursements should be timely, consistent, and clearly defined. Evaluation results of programs (not individual children) should be made public. Licensing: Oregon should provide licensing and oversight for care programs involving children and youth 0-18 yrs. Oregon should provide a clear, comprehensive licensing process. Facility requirements should be clearly defined to help providers understand and meet regulations. Coaching and technical assistance regarding licensing should be made available to providers. The licensing of providers should be handled by one state agency. Curriculum: There should be oversight to ensure age-appropriate curricular goals are met. Equity, respect, and the needs of diverse cultures should be incorporated into curriculum planning to benefit all children. Older youth should be involved in curricular planning to help them develop independence and responsibility. Care programs should have curricular input from parents and guardians. When the latest research on curriculum and procedures is available, it should be disseminated to providers. Staffing: The certification of provider staff should be in one state agency. Background checks should be conducted by one state agency with an emphasis on efficient and prompt responses. Provider staff should be compensated for the training time required. The training required for provider staff should be free or subsidized. Training for provider staff should be offered at a variety of times at accessible locations or online and be available in a variety of languages. The State of Oregon should provide forgivable education loans for people who work in childcare, afterschool, and summer care in underserved or high poverty areas. Children at Risk - Adopted January 1995 ; Updated Position 2015 The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports comprehensive statewide, locally-based programs and services for teen pregnancy prevention and for teenage parents. Such programs and services should include elements of the following: family planning services, school-based health centers, parenting skills’ education, cooperation/coordination among agencies providing services, evaluation and accountability measurements, easy and appropriate access to information and services, mentoring and counseling for teenagers and their parents, including peer counseling, community involvement and support groups, abuse prevention, male responsibility in teen pregnancy prevention, broad public education, and 12. substance abuse prevention. The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes the state should have the primary responsibility for funding programs addressing teenage pregnancy prevention and teen parenting. Elements to be included, but not limited to, are: equitable funding of programs for young women and young men, adequate funding for state agencies with responsibilities to children, cooperative efforts with the private sector, funds earmarked for community programs, urban and rural, which provide after school and weekend activities for teens, and shared funding responsibility, when appropriate, among state, local and private sources. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports development of required curriculum for all school districts relative to teen pregnancy and parenting, accompanied by implementation requirements, which covers, but is not limited to, the following areas: comprehensive, age-appropriate family life sexuality education K-12, parenting skills education, specialized education programs for pregnant teens and teenage parents, and teacher training at the baccalaureate level and as continuing education. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports programs directed to assist pregnant teens and teen parents. These programs include the following: job training and adequate wages, involvement and financial support requirements for fathers, counseling to break the cycles of abuse, poverty, and teen pregnancy, health care, including prenatal care, accessible, affordable housing, child care, transportation access, completion of secondary education, and self-esteem enhancement, career opportunities, and transition to self-sufficiency. Updated Position 2015 In the Spring of 2015, League members throughout Oregon studied early childhood education, discussed consensus questions posed by the LWVOR study committee, and submitted their views to the state League. Those views were combined to formulate the following position, which can now be used for advocacy by local Leagues as well as the LWVOR Action Team. LWVOR Children at Risk Position Statement: The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that the early years of a child’s life are crucial in building the foundation for educational attainment and greatly impact success or failure in later life. Early intervention and prevention measures are effective in helping children reach their full potential. The League supports policies, programs, and funding at all levels of the community and government that promote the well-being, encourage the full development, and ensure the safety of all children. These include: Nutrition and food access for vulnerable children and families Access to affordable, safe, and stable housing Early screening (physical, dental, mental, and behavioral) for all children; early prenatal care and ongoing health care for children (physical, mental, dental) Access to affordable, quality child care (see LWVOR Child Care position) Access to early literacy and pre-school programs, including but not limited to Early Head Start and Head Start Programs for mental health and addictions treatment for parents Family support, including but not limited to home visiting, parenting classes, and family relief nurseries Comprehensive services for children with developmental and cognitive disabilities Use of evidence-based practices in child welfare and foster care Programs to reduce poverty by providing parents with assistance in job training and education Policies and legislation to reduce racial or ethnic minority status inequities The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that governments, at all levels, have a responsibility to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive network of services to maximize children’s readiness to be successful in school while optimizing available resources. National Position, adopted 1994: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that early intervention and prevention measures are effective in helping children reach their full potential. The League supports policies and programs at all levels of the community and government that promote the wellbeing, encourage the full development and ensure the safety of all children. These include: child abuse/neglect prevention; teen pregnancy prevention; quality health care, including nutrition and prenatal care; early childhood education; developmental services, emphasizing children ages 0-3; family support services; violence prevention. Public Postsecondary Education - Adopted January 1985, updated June 2018 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes the primary goal of Oregon’s public postsecondary education should be to provide a broad spectrum of higher education for professional, vocational, and personal enrichment. Individuals with higher levels of education are more likely to have rewarding careers, earn higher wages, and make positive contributions to their community. Through sustaining equitable access and a seamless path from preK to postsecondary education, more Oregon students will prosper. Postsecondary Education System Oregon needs a strong, high-quality system of higher education: Oregon’s postsecondary institutions have distinct missions and goals and should be evaluated based upon how each institution’s goals are met. The State General Fund should give high priority to financial aid for students and general operating funds. Capital construction should come from other sources, including bonding, rather than the General Fund. In order to attract and retain quality faculty, salaries and research opportunities should be appropriately competitive. It is imperative in our institutions that we have good fiscal management and accountability for the funding provided. For the most effective use of state educational resources, state public institutions should cooperate and coordinate programs resulting in: Consistent statewide standards, and Easy transfer of credit between schools. If state funding necessitates limiting access, such limitation should consider equity as well as academic achievement and financial need. Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) HECC should place priority on: Providing one strategic vision for higher education in Oregon; Developing biennial budget recommendations for public postsecondary education in Oregon and making funding allocations to Oregon’s public community colleges and public universities; and Developing standards for programs such as dual credit, transfer, and credit for prior learning. HECC’s role should be to facilitate system high priorities while allowing as much autonomy as possible within each institution. Community Colleges The primary role of community colleges should be in the areas of: Workforce and vocational-technical training; Developmental education (e.g. high school equivalency, English language learning); Lower division college courses that prepare students for an associate’s degree or transfer to university; and Hobby and recreation courses have a secondary role and must be self-supporting, as defined by statute. If state funding necessitates limiting access, such limitation should consider equity as well as financial need. Independent Governing Boards Cooperation and coordination should be emphasized by all Oregon public postsecondary education institutions and governing boards. The performance of independent boards at each institution should be monitored to ensure that they are responsive to the institution’s needs and the needs of the state as a whole. Oregon State System of Higher Education (OSSHE) For the most effective use of state educational resources, OSSHE institutions should cooperate and coordinate programs resulting in: Consistent statewide standards. Easy transfer of credit between schools. If state funding for OSSHE institutions necessitates limiting access, such limitation should be: Academic, e.g. entrance requirements. Financial limitation is the least desirable. Oregon needs a strong, high-quality system of higher education. State funding must reflect this need, and high priority should be given to providing sufficient funds to improve the general excellence of the state system. In order to attract and retain quality faculty, salaries and research opportunities should be appropriately competitive. Adequate funding should also be provided to ensure complete, up-to-date libraries and to maintain or upgrade the physical plants at all of our colleges and universities. It is imperative that in our institutions we have good fiscal management accountability for the funding provided. League members feel that the roles and interrelationships of the present regional colleges, specialized institutions, and research universities are properly balanced. Oregon State University and the University of Oregon should remain comprehensive research universities. Portland State University should be allowed to expand gradually. Community Colleges The primary role of community colleges should be in the areas of: Vocational-technical training; Developmental education (e.g. high school equivalency, English as a second language); Lower division college courses. Community adult education (hobby and recreation courses) should have a secondary role and must be self-supporting as defined by statute. Community colleges should maintain an open door policy. If funding necessitates limiting access: Such limitation should be geographic, i.e. higher tuition for out-of-district students; Academic or financial limitations are the least desirable. State funding for community colleges should be according to the formulas set by the 1961 legislation. Local control must be maintained because it affords the community colleges the necessary flexibility to respond to local needs. Boards and Commissions Cooperation and coordination should be emphasized by all Oregon public postsecondary education institutions and governing boards. The current boards dealing with education, the Board of Education, and the Board of Higher Education need no structural change. The League does not favor the creation of a new education governing body Editor’s note: for K-12 education, see Fiscal Policy Position, School District Financing. Farmworker Issues - Adopted January 2001 T he League of Women Voters of Oregon believes all citizens benefit from the agricultural bounty produced by Oregon’s farmers and farmworkers, and that the state has a role in supporting the sound and fair relationship between farmers and the agricultural workforce, with the goal of economic and social justice for both parties. LWVOR believes the state must work for the humane and respectful treatment of workers as well as the viability of Oregon farms. Currently laws that regulate the working environment for agricultural workers are different from laws regulating the working conditions in other industries. The LWVOR believes the differences between agriculture and other industries justify some variance; but where farm work is similar to other labor, regulatory differences should be narrowed. All farmworkers should be fairly compensated, earning at least minimum wage. With the possible exception of piece-rate work, some farm labor should be eligible for overtime pay. Unemployment insurance should cover permanent, year-round farmworkers. Hourly-paid farmworkers should receive paid rest breaks; all farmworkers should be provided adequate time away from work for meals. The state should continue to improve the safety of agricultural workplaces for farmworkers. Rules for child labor and for the use of farm and forestry labor contractors should maintain high standards of worker protections. State laws and programs, including non-governmental efforts, should address farmworkers’ needs for a broad range of services, such as child care, safe and decent housing, sanitary working and living conditions, and access to education and health care. Education programs that are bilingual and culturally appropriate should be offered to assure that workers understand safe work practices, workplace rules, and grievance procedures. LWVOR supports the right of Oregon farmworkers to collectively bargain. Farmworkers should have the right to hold union elections. Employer retaliation for collective activity should be prohibited. Legislation establishing fair rules for unionization by farmworkers should be developed through a dialogue between workers and employers. Monitoring of union elections and contracts by either a private commission or a state entity should be fair and under terms agreeable to both workers and employers. Mediation programs should be encouraged. LWVOR believes consistent and adequate enforcement of state regulations is a key to better conditions for farmworkers. Currently, we find enforcement to be inadequate and inconsistent. LWVOR supports increasing enforcement staff, increasing fines and penalties for serious violations, and collection of civil penalties for infractions of laws. LWVOR supports programs to help farmers understand and comply with worker protection rules. LWVOR believes that safe, decent, and affordable housing should be available to all farmworkers. Oregon currently has an acute shortage of such housing for its agricultural workforce. LWVOR supports increased state funding for farmworker housing, including support, with other funds, for planning, development costs, rural infrastructure, startup costs, operating subsidies, emergency housing, and training and assistance for sponsoring organizations. The state has an important role in ensuring the safety of farmworker housing provided on farms. Such housing that has not been registered with the state should be located and brought into compliance with state standards. Public funding should emphasize best practices, such as community-based housing, and should encourage new models that are decent and safe housing alternatives for seasonal and for permanent, year round workers; these two groups may require different types of housing. Gun Safety - National Position Statement of Position on Gun Control, as Adopted by 1990 Convention and amended by the 1994 and 1998 Conventions: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the proliferation of handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons in the United States is a major health and safety threat to its citizens. The League supports strong federal measures to limit the accessibility and regulate the ownership of these weapons by private citizens. The League supports regulating firearms for consumer safety. The League supports licensing procedures for gun ownership by private citizens to include a waiting period for background checks, personal identity verification, gun safety education and annual license renewal. The license fee should be adequate to bear the cost of education and verification. The League supports a ban on “Saturday night specials,” enforcement of strict penalties for the improper possession of and crimes committed with handguns and assault weapons, and allocation of resources to better regulate and monitor gun dealers. Health Policy Adult Mental Health in Oregon - Adopted January 1987; Educational Update 2001*; language update 2008** The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports a comprehensive and integrated adult mental health services delivery system in Oregon which: Includes both community and state programs and facilities; Provides for coordination of local and state mental health planning based on regular needs assessments; Provides funding by a coordinated mix of federal, state, local, and private sector dollars; and Includes state budget allocations that reflect service priorities jointly determined by Community Mental Health Programs and the state Addictions and Mental Health Division. The League supports the concept of care, treatment, and support in the least restrictive environment possible which: Ensures continuity of care and humaneness; and Balances the rights and safety of individuals with mental disorders, other interested parties, and society in general. The League believes that the mental health delivery system should include: Adults with: Mental and emotional illness; and Alcohol and drug addiction. Services that focus on recovery of the individual through use of evidence-based crisis intervention and ongoing support. These services could include alternatives to hospitalization, early intervention, residential services, supportive housing, and services delivered by peers in sufficient mix and quantity to afford an acceptable quality of life for consumers and their families. Mental health service providers, administrators, advocates, consumers, their families, and lay citizens as participants in: Service delivery planning; The evaluation of services; and The provision of community education. 4. The League supports an adult mental health civil commitment process which: Ensures statewide consistency in the application of commitment statutes; Provides for adequate and equitable investigation and examination; and Protects the rights and needs of all interested parties. *Updated 2001 for background information only—no position change. **Updated 2008 for language changes only in the position statement—no position change. Mental Health Services for Children and Youth - Adopted January 1975 The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports a coordinated plan for comprehensive mental health services for all levels of need to children and youth provided under the direction of a single state service agency responsible for basic state standards. We support the appropriation of consistent and sufficient funds to implement state-mandated programs. A well-coordinated comprehensive mental health service delivery plan should cover such concerns as: Community level services that are accessible, visible, and available to all income levels through a graduated fee schedule; Community level programs that provide early diagnostic and referral services, 24-hour emergency care, treatment services and facilities, aftercare, and follow-up care; The development of preventive programs; Coordination of all levels of government and all public and private agencies working with children; Standards of training for all personnel appropriate to job placement; Consistent state funds supplemented by all available resources, public and private; Utilization of all local resources; Basic state standards which encourage quality treatment and care while permitting alternative programs. The League of Women Voters further supports consistent and sufficient state funds for special education programs in the public school, including: Programs based upon the child’s individual needs; Special training for teachers working with disturbed children. Physical Health Care National Position: Promote a health care system for the United States that provides access to a basic level of quality care for all U.S. residents and controls health care costs. Homeless Youth - Adopted 2007 Parents are legally responsible for their children. When parents are unable to fulfill that responsibility, the League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that communities and governments at all levels have a responsibility to provide programs and services to meet the needs of runaway and homeless youth. In order to help families stay together, prevent youth homelessness, and reduce the need for more expensive future services, the LWVOR supports providing services such as family crisis counseling, child care, parenting education, mental health and addiction treatment, low-cost housing, and health care. When youth are separated from their families, the LWVOR supports providing services to these youth, such as shelter, food, education, health care, mental health and addiction treatment, plus outreach to encourage youth to use services. Older youth need additional services, such as assistance with independent living skills and with finding employment and more permanent housing. These services may be provided by government or by private organizations that receive government and/or private funding. Coordination of these services is necessary to avoid duplication and service gaps. Youth should be served regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability. All levels of government should have funding responsibility for preventive and supportive services to families and homeless youth. Private organizations are encouraged to provide funding and services. Government funds should be adequate and allocated according to demonstrated need. Agencies must show that their programs are effective. Housing National Position Criteria for Housing Supply: The following considerations can be applied to programs and policies to provide a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family: The responsibility for achieving national housing goals rests primarily with the federal government, which should: Assure that our economic system is functioning to produce and maintain sufficient decent housing for citizens at all income levels; Compensate for any failure or inadequacy of the system by building, financing, renting and selling homes to those citizens whose housing needs are not being met; Give a variety of incentives to local jurisdictions to encourage them to provide within their boundaries an adequate supply of decent housing for low- and moderate-income groups; Withhold federal funds from communities that fail to encourage such housing. State and local governments should assist by establishing effective agencies to aid, promote, coordinate and supplement the housing programs of the federal government and the private sector. Government at all levels must make available sufficient funds for housing-assistance programs. When families or individuals cannot afford decent housing, government should provide assistance in the form of income and/or subsidized housing. Government programs providing subsidies to the building, financing and insuring industries for housing for lower-income families should be evaluated in terms of units produced rather than in terms of benefits accruing to these industries. Government at all levels should develop policies that will assure sufficient land at reasonable cost on which to develop housing and that will assure fulfillment of other goals such as access to employment, preservation of open space, environmental cleanliness and beauty, and other aspects of a suitable living environment. Regional and metropolitan planning should be promoted to prevent haphazard urban growth, and housing for low- and moderate-income families should be provided as apart of all planned neighborhoods or communities. Lower-income families should not be segregated in large developments or neighborhoods. As their economic status improves, lower-income families should be enabled to continue to live in the same units as private tenants or as homeowners, if they are so inclined. Housing should be designed to meet human needs and should be built with amenities that will encourage economic integration within apartment buildings as well as neighborhoods. Publicly assisted housing should be included in viable, balanced communities, with provision for quality public services and facilities, including schools, transportation, recreation, etc., that will encourage integration and stability. Zoning practices and procedures that will counteract racial and economic isolation should be promoted. State and local governments should adopt and enforce: Uniform building codes with standards based on performance; Housing codes to protect the health and safety of all citizens. State and local tax structures should be examined and revised to: Benefit communities that build housing for lower-income families; Encourage private owners to improve their homes; Reduce speculative land costs. Government, industry and labor should encourage innovative building techniques to reduce the cost of housing production. Rights of tenants to negotiate for proper maintenance, management of facilities and services should be protected. Housing programs should be administered by individuals trained for the jobs and sympathetic with the needs of their clientele. Citizen groups should participate in the development of publicly assisted housing programs by: Evaluating performance; Activating nonprofit sponsorships; Supporting legislation; Developing public awareness of housing discrimination and need. Juvenile Justice - Adopted March 1981; Educational Update 2000* The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes in coordinated planning and implementation of juvenile services. Prevention of juvenile crimes should be a priority in our society. Prevention programs should: Be available from early childhood to adulthood; Involve family, peers, schools, and the community; Make available early diagnosis and treatment for physical, mental, and educational problems; Make available opportunities for all youth to learn responsibility and positive self-images in their own communities; and Make available opportunities for learning parenting skills. Services for juvenile offenders should: Be responsive to the needs of the youth and his or her family; Make diversion programs available prior to entry as well as during involvement in the juvenile justice system; Emphasize community planned and operated programs, including youth restitution programs; Deal with youth offenders in the least restrictive environment; Provide treatment-oriented secure custody; Include appropriate evaluation, treatment, and placement for those already in the system. The League opposes holding juveniles in adult jails. If appropriate alternatives are not available, care must be taken to assure that juveniles are out of sight and sound of incarcerated adults. Status offenders should be diverted from the juvenile justice system whenever possible. The League opposes holding status offenders in jail under any conditions. Social services outside the juvenile justice system should be developed to meet their needs. The juvenile court may be needed to provide help and protection for some youth. Basic standards for juvenile services should rest with the state. Minimal federal standards are acceptable. Local governments should have flexibility for implementing programs consistent with these standards. Funding for Juvenile services should be consistent and dependable from all sources: Local, state, federal, and private; Include parental ability to pay; Any level of government mandating services should provide substantial funding for those services. There should be a uniform statewide data system that provides meaningful and retrievable information while complying with right-to-privacy laws. *Updated for background information only – no position change. Women’s Issues LWVOR uses several LWVUS positions relating to women in supporting and opposing specific legislative proposals, statewide initiatives and community activities. The positions include: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes in the individual liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. The League is convinced that rights now protected by the Constitution should not be weakened or abridged. The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. The League supports “equal rights for all regardless of sex.” The League further believes that governments at all levels share the responsibility to provide equality of opportunity for education, employment and housing for all persons regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation or disability. The League supports programs and policies to prevent or reduce poverty and to promote self-sufficiency for individuals and families, including quality of health care, income assistance, housing and public transportation access.

Learn about LWVOR's voter education resources and materials. VOTE411 All the election information you need, available in English and Spanish. Check your voter registration, find your nearest ballot dropboxes, learn about candidates, and more. Brought to you by the League of Women Voters Education Fund. VOTE411.ORG Our Nonpartisan Voters' Guides VOTE411 in Oregon VOTE411.org is a one-stop election resource! Find the candidates and measures you’ll see on your personal ballot. Video Voters’ Guides Local Leagues record candidate interviews via Zoom and other platforms. Watch them on VOTE411.org ! Statewide English Voters' Guide Our Voters’ Guides are available during statewide elections. The Fall 2026 Guide is now available! Audio Voters’ Guide This podcast-style Voters’ Guide is a great way to learn about your candidates on the go. Produced in partnership with the Talking Book and Braille Library of the State Library of Oregon. Statewide Spanish Voters’ Guide Nuestra guía para votantes a nivel estatal también está disponible en español. ¡La guía de otoño de 2026 ya está disponible! Braille Voters’ Guide Qualifying individuals can request a Braille format Voters' Guide from the Talking Book and Braille Library at the State Library of Oregon. Election Resources: Partners and Election Authorities Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) Oregon Secretary of State OregonVotes.Gov Think Before You Ink Only sign petitions you support! Find our brochure and other campaign resources here. Learn More

/ Member Handbook / Member Handbook This resource will acquaint new and existing members with League principles and processes so you can take full advantage of the opportunities of membership. Contents are linked below. MISSION STATEMENT HISTORY NONPARTISANSHIP VOTING MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS CONVENTIONS AND COUNCILS FINANCE VOTER EDUCATION ACTION COMMUNITY INFORMATION PROGRAM PUBLICATIONS LEAGUE LANGUAGE INDEX Membership Organization Principles and Action Program Finance MISSION STATEMENT The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. HISTO RY Carrie Chapman Catt and others organized the League of Women Voters of the United States in 1920. The League of Women Voters of Oregon was also founded in 1920. The League’s first goal was to teach women how to exercise their new right to vote; the scope was soon enlarged to include service to all citizens. Political action based on knowledge gained from study became the cornerstone of the League’s diverse agenda. NONPARTISANSHIP The League never supports or opposes any political party or candidate for elective office. Because of scrupulous adherence to this nonpartisan political policy, the League takes action only in the public interest and only on issues on which members have reached agreement after conducting studies. However, as individuals, League members are encouraged to join fully in the political process. VOTING MEMBERSHIP Membership in the League of Women Voters is open to people of all genders, age 16 and up. The League of Women Voters works on local, state and national levels. At all levels, members have a voice in what will be studied, what action will be taken, how League money will be spent, and who League leaders will be. The League is a grassroots organization, and members are dedicated to local Leagues as the foundation for local, state and national impact. The League of Women Voters Education Fund, created to strengthen League activities in education and voter service, functions under the auspices of the League of Women Voters, but legally exists as a discrete organization. Contributions to the Education Fund can be considered tax‐deductible. The Education Fund never advocates and never lobbies. MEETINGS Each local League determines its own schedule and meets typically nine times a year. A meeting for all members is usually called a General Meeting. The membership may divide into smaller groups, called units, which meet for discussion. Units are effective for different interest groups or when members are scattered over a large geographic area. Members meet to study and to discuss issues such as voting rights, land use, taxes, water resources, human needs, international trade and issues of local concern. All League meetings are open to the public. Each local League holds an Annual Meeting to elect officers, set local dues, and adopt local programs, bylaws and budget. All members can and should attend the Annual Meeting. CONVENTIONS AND COUNCILS The national Convention—for the League of Women Voters of the United States—is held biennially in even‐numbered years, with Washington D.C. the location every other national Convention. Delegates are elected by local Leagues in numbers proportionate to their membership. Any voting member of the League is eligible to serve as a Convention delegate. Observers and guests may attend but not vote. Delegates debate and vote on program, budget, financial support, and bylaws. They elect officers for the next biennium. The national Council is held in odd‐numbered years. Voting members include two delegates from each state plus the national Board of Directors. The League of Women Voters of Oregon holds its Convention in odd‐numbered years and Council in even‐numbered years, using similar rules. FINANCE League is a nonprofit organization that must have adequate financing to operate and to achieve its goals. Local Leagues adopt budgets to support local, state and national activities. Financial support comes from members, non‐members and the community at large. Dues are a major income factor in local League budgets. Each local League decides the amount of dues and the method for collecting them. Dues can be paid on the membership anniversary or at the beginning of the fiscal year. A large portion of the dues, called Per Member Payment or PMP, supports state and national League mission. The League conducts fundraising campaigns at every level to augment income from dues. Dues are only tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law for League nonprofit status determined by the IRS. VOTER EDUCATION The League of Women Voters of Oregon qualifies as a 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code and may accept tax‐deductible contributions. In part, these funds are used for Voter Service activities and balanced, impartial information on governmental issues, study guides, surveys, research projects and litigation in the public interest. The League of Women Voters believes in representative government and in the individual liberties established in the Constitution of the United States. The League of Women Voters believes that efficient and economical government requires competent personnel, the clear assignment of responsibility, adequate financing and coordination among the different agencies and levels of government. The League of Women Voters believes government should be responsive to the will of the people in the following ways. Government should: ● maintain an equitable and flexible system of taxation; ● promote the conservation and development of natural resources in the public interest; ● share in the solution of economic and social problems which affect the general welfare; ● promote a sound economy; ● adopt domestic policies that facilitate the solution of international problems. The League encourages citizens to register, vote, and take part in government and politics. League members register voters, sponsor candidates and issue forums or debates, and provide information about voting. The LWVOR Voters’ Guide is an important resource for state elections. It provides objective, balanced election information and does not state League positions. The Voters’ Guide is available in many formats including easy‐to‐read, Spanish, Internet, large‐print and audio. We also coordinate a statewide mock election for K‐ 12 schools to help students learn the importance of participating in democracy. Rights of US Residents The League of Women Voters believes that: ● every citizen should be protected in the right to vote; ● every person should have access to free public education which provides equal opportunity for all; ● no person or group should suffer legal, economic or administrative discrimination. The League of Women Voters believes that democratic government depends upon the informed and active participation of its citizens and requires that governmental bodies protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of the proposed actions, holding open meetings and making public records accessible. World Citizenship The League of Women Voters believes that cooperation with other nations is essential in the search for solutions to world problems, and that the development of international organizations and international law is imperative in the promotion of world peace. ACTION After reaching an agreement and announcing a position, local, state, or national Leagues take action by: ● working with other organizations (coalitions); ● speaking out through letter‐writing and e‐mail campaigns and through visits to legislators and public officials (based on our positions, we support or oppose legislation, ballot measures, etc.); ● testifying at legislative and administrative hearings; ● monitoring elections and other government activities; ● litigating to help clarify laws in the public interest. The League sends observers to meetings of local, regional, state and national government bodies. Observers do not speak for the League but attend meetings to listen, to learn, and to make factual reports. COMMUNITY INFORMATION Educating Oregonians about government and relevant state and local issues is a major League activity. Through community handbooks, political directories, and factual studies of issues, the League provides unbiased information necessary for an informed electorate. Community organizations often call upon the League for speakers on selected topics about government. PROGRAM Annual Program Planning League program at every level consists of those issues members choose for concentrated study and action. At each year’s program planning meeting, members discuss ideas for local and state or national program topics or studies. Deciding What to Study Proposals are submitted to the appropriate Board of Directors. The Board then considers the proposals, formulates a recommended program, and presents it to the membership at the Annual Meeting of the local League or to the delegates at the state or national Convention. Not‐recommended items can also be considered at each level. Such issues must fall within League principles and must be ones on which government action can be taken. Final decisions on state and national programs are made by a vote of the delegates to the respective Convention. The Study Process Once a study has been adopted, the Board appoints a chairperson of the “resource” or study committee and other members are solicited to serve on the committee. The resource committee gathers information on the study item, analyzes information, clarifies issues, and identifies problems. The committee presents all sides of the issue to members. The study may include tours, guest speakers, interviews and other activities. When the study has been completed, a report is published. Formulating a League Position Before the League can act, members must agree in broad terms on various aspects of the issue. To formulate a position, or statement of action, the League takes consensus. Consensus, or agreement, is reached through group discussion. Mem‐ bers come to an overall “sense of the group” as expressed through the exchange of ideas and opinions. It is from this agreement that the League formulates a position statement for action. League positions can also be reached through concurrence, or agreeing with a proposed statement. League members or Boards can concur with recommendations or a statement from a task force, a resource committee, a unit group, or any League Board. PUBLICATIONS League publications are important tools for carrying out our purpose. They are researched, written and distributed by members at every level. The League provides its materials free of charge to members, and in most cases, to the public. Aside from program study reports and Voters’ Guides mentioned earlier, other publications include member newsletters published locally, nationally, and at the state level (usually titled The Voter, although some local Leagues have their own titles), the Legislative Report (a statewide e‐ newsletter published during legislative sessions), and the National League’s email member newsletters. Other publications include annual reports, study report summaries, presentations, websites, and more. In order to accommodate a diversity of needs, items are published in multiple formats, including audio, and online. LEAGUE LANGUAGE INDEX Arranged alphabetically by topic Membership Voting Members US citizens at least 16 years old who have paid dues or who are Life Members. Members At State Members who do not reside within the geographic area of a local League, and choose to pay League dues for membership at the state level. Household Membership Two or more members at the same address; one person pays full dues and each additional person pays half the amount. Life Members Those who have belonged to League for 50 or more years and no longer pay dues. Associate Members Members under 16 or non-citizens who have paid dues. Organization Board Administrative body consisting of officers plus elected and appointed directors. Education Fund A separate organization established by the League to accept tax-deductible contributions, the funds of which can be used only for educational or Voter Service activities, such as a League study or Voters’ Guide. Nonpartisan Describes the League’s policy of not supporting or opposing political parties or candidates. Portfolio The specific program or administrative responsibility of a Board member, such as international relations, land use or public relations. Many League Boards are moving away from the portfolio system, with Board members assuming responsibilities as necessary. Units Small discussion groups. Not all Leagues use units. They work well in larger Leagues or those spread over a large geographic area. Principles and Action Governance One of the four areas in which the League studies and acts. Governance refers to the workings of the three branches of government, especially state legislatures and Congress, where laws are made. It includes taxation and other financial matters of the state or nation. International Relations The relationship of our country to other nations in trade, peacekeeping, the United Nations, etc. This is the second major area of League concern. Local Item A topic of concern and possible action in the city or county of a local League. Natural Resources A third major area of League interest. It includes air and water quality, land use, energy, transportation, and waste disposal. Social Policy The fourth area of concern to League members. Social policy covers education, health, housing, corrections, issues affecting women and children, human rights and civil liberties. Program Concurrence General agreement of League members to a statement of position written by the Board or other group at any level of League. Concurrence is often used to update an existing position. Consensus General agreement of League members following thorough study and discussion. League positions are based on member consensus. Observers League members who attend and monitor meetings of government councils, boards and commissions. Position A statement of beliefs of League members on a particular issue, reached by consensus or concurrence of members after thorough study and discussion. The position is adopted by the appropriate board, according to the level at which the study was done (local, state, or national). Action, pro or con, is carried out on the basis of positions from any level of League. Study The process of researching and analyzing an issue from all sides. Finance PMP Per Member Payment—monetary support for the state and national Leagues as decided by Convention delegates. mission history nonpartisan votingmembers meetings conventioncouncil finance votereducation action communityinfo program publications leaguelingo memberhip organization action program finance2

Back to All Legislative Reports Social Policy Social Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Pierce • After School and Summer Care: Katie Riley • Behavioral Health: Trish Garner • Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice: Marge Easley/Sharron Noone • Education: Jean Pierce • Gender-Related Concerns, Reproductive Health, Age Discrimination: Trish Garner • Gun Safety & Gun Issues, Rights for Incarcerated People: Marge Easley • Hate and Bias Crimes: Claudia Keith/ Becky Gladstone /rhyen enger • Health Care: Christa Danielsen • Housing: Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan Note: Education reports after January, 2024, are included in Social policy reports. Education reports prior to February, 2024, can be found HERE . Please see the Legislation Tracker for 2025 Social Policy bills . Jump to topic: After School and Summer Age-Related Issues Behavioral Health Education Gun Policy Housing Legislation Immigration Public Safety After School and Summer By Katie Riley This past week was extremely busy. HB 3039 which would have appropriated moneys from the General Fund to the Department of Education and would have required the Department of Education to study methods for increasing the availability of summer and after-school academic and enrichment programs was dropped. HB 2007 which would modify requirements for the summer learning program to emphasize literacy and accountability was amended to HB 2007-A and heard in the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education where it was passed. The accompanying funding bill HB 5047-A was also heard at the same time and passed. HB 5047 provides $35 million for summer 2025 and $47 million in 2026 and 27. It also provides for a special summer learning grant fund outside the general fund; thereby, establishing a sustainable funding source that allows for advance planning. The Oregonian published an article about the swift action on these bills that is a good description of the process. It is disappointing that the funding that has been passed for HB 2007 will be tightly focused on literacy and testing and will not go to all districts; however, it is encouraging that funding will be provided for summer learning, the funding is being established in a separate fund outside the general fund, and it will be provided over three years to allow for advance planning. It is hoped this bill will set a precedent for future allocations that will include specific funding for after school hours care with enriched programming that allows more opportunity for children to enjoy their time outside regular school hours while being inspired to pursue academics toward interesting career paths. HB 3941 which was introduced to allocate $4,990,000 for a grant program to establish up to 5 community schools at $170,000 per year in matching funds was scheduled for a a work session on April 7th but it was removed from the schedule. It is now dead. SB 1127 which would have provided for grants to develop and provide educational activities during recess, lunch or after school for Title I elementary schools was voted down in the Senate Committee on Education. It was noted that school foundations might be a better source of funding for these activities. It appears that some legislators are introducing amendments to bills to clarify that bills cannot “discriminate” against certain groups of people. They appear to be motivated by the federal administration’s desire to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts that prioritize groups that have been underserved. Since the bills are largely neutral and not specifying DEI activities, most of the amendments were not passed. However, HB 3008 was amended to include wording that allocations “will be based on merit and without discrimination or preferential treatment on the basis of race or ethnicity.” The bill would allocate funds to different agencies for investment in the child care workforce, including $9 million from the General Fund to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) in the 2025-27 biennium for distribution to Portland State University to fund recruitment and retention payments to childcare providers working in Oregon through the Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education. The measure also includes a one-time appropriation of $6.5 million from the General Fund to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) in the 2025-27 biennium for distribution to childcare workforce training programs. The bill has been referred to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. HB 3011 , which establishes the Early Childhood Education Workforce Development Fund and appropriates moneys for community colleges and public universities in this state that offer early childhood education degrees and certificates had a work session on April 8th in the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. Testimon y was submitted earlier in support of this bill. The bill received a Do Pass recommendation for a House floor vote. HB 2593 which would direct the Department of Early Learning and Care to study the impact on student parents and working parents who are on the Employment Related Day Care subsidy waitlist (currently over 10,000) had a work session on April 8th in the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services. It was sent to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Age-Related Issues By Patricia Garner HB 3497A Amendment 1 requires 14-plus State agencies to consider the effects of their actions on older adult populations. It passed unanimously (with one excusal) in the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services and was referred to Ways & Means. The portion of HB 3187A that authorized employees to present evidence of disparities in salary, length of service and pension/retirement status in order to prove a workplace age discrimination case has been eliminated, leaving only the language that prohibited employers from asking about an applicant’s date of birth or graduation date, unless a conditional offer of employment had already been made or age was an intrinsic feature of the job (i.e, a bartender). On a party line vote, the House Labor and Work Standards Committee passed the amended bill (HB 3187 A – Amendment 1) with a “do pass” recommendation. Behavioral Health By Stephanie Aller and Patricia Garner On April 8th the House Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee unanimously passed HB 2015 Amendment 3 with a “do pass” recommendation and a referral to Ways & Means. This wide-ranging bill addresses regulatory barriers in building and operating secure residential treatment facilities (SRTF’s), residential treatment facilities (RTF’s) and residential treatment homes (RTH’s) in Oregon. It directs the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to study nursing requirements in SRTF’s and to assess alternative methodologies for reimbursement. At the present time federal reimbursement rates are much higher when a bed is actually occupied by a patient. This seems to make sense until one appreciates that there are situations where, for example, a temporary leave is appropriate to foster a good placement. The current reimbursement system incentivizes these facilities to keep individuals continually and for longer periods than might be necessary. HB 2467 Amendment 3 passed unanimously in the House Judiciary Committee with a do pass recommendation and a referral to Ways and Means. The last-minute referral to Ways and Means was unexpected and may reflect some opposition that hasn’t surfaced to date. If it passes, HB 2467 Amendment 3 will likely have a significant state-wide impact because it clarifies the standard by which someone is considered sufficiently dangerous to self and others such that civil commitment is warranted. HB 2480 Amendment 1 passed unanimously without recommendation in the House Judiciary Committee and was referred to the Joint Committee Addiction and Community Safety Response. The bill itemizes factors that courts may consider when determining whether a defendant is mentally competent to proceed, or “aid and assist” in their defense, in a criminal proceeding. These include, for example, prior evaluations, evidence of a prior diagnosis by a certified evaluator or qualified mental health practitioner, prior commitments, and/or the defendant’s conduct as observed in court. HB 2480 Amendment 1 also authorizes the Oregon Public Guardian and Conservator to provide guardianship services for criminals whose criminal proceedings have been suspended because of a lack of mental competency. A temporary guardian may also be appointed. Two bills ( HB 3835 - Amendment 1 and 2 and SB 1113 ) were filed at the beginning of the Session. Both addressed restraints and seclusions in schools and health care agencies, as well as out-of-state placements. Senator Sara Gelser Blouin sponsored the Senate bill. Representative Nosse is the Chief Sponsor for HB 3835. The Senate bill used a more restrictive standard in allowing restraints and seclusions, but a scheduled Work Session was removed from the Senate Human Services Committee’s calendar and so will not be proceeding. The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services unanimously adopted HB 3835 Amendment 3 , with two excused, but without recommendation as to passage. It was referred to Rules. At the conclusion of the hearing the Committee Chair Representative Nosse gave a strong statement that this bill was not being sent to Rules to die but that were still some items to discuss and he anticipated the bill’s passage. HB 2202 Amendment 1 (coordinated care organizations) passed the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee with a do pass recommendation and a referral to Ways and Means. The vote was on party lines, with Democrats voting in favor. The bill looks like a work study bill and the OHA is directed to report its progress to the legislature by September 15, 2026, but there are a number of other more substantive provisions. As an example, it adds standards and requirements for CCO annual reports and requires OHA to convene an accreditation advisory committee annually rather than as needed. Funding bills – A number of bills relating to behavioral health matters were passed in Committee and referred for further budgetary consideration, including: HB 2024 Amendment 3 - unanimous, $20 million OHA to develop and implement incentive payments which are designed to increase the wages of residential, out-patient, outreach and medically assisted treatment providers so they are competitive with for-profit and hospital providers; $20 million in grants to behavioral health care providers for defined services, $5 million for the purpose of establishing a program designed to enhance training, education and apprenticeship programs HB 2056A Amendment 1 – unanimous, $64,890 appropriation to OHA for distribution to community mental health programs HB 2059 Amendment 3 – unanimous, $90 million appropriation for building residential treatment facilities. League testimony HB 2729A Amendment 6 – party line vote with Democrats voting aye, $7 million appropriation for OHA to develop and implement grant programs for school districts, education services districts and entities that provide physical or behavioral health services to be used to increase and improve school-based mental health services and substance abuse prevention SB 920 was sponsored by Senator Daniel Bonham (Republican). It directs the Oregon State University Extension Service to accelerate the promotion of behavioral health in Oregon by convening local communities to develop plans that promote behavioral health and facilitate community conversations about mental health and substance abuse. All members of the Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee voted for the bill except for Representative Diane Linthicum (Republican) who did not state her reasons for voting against it. Education By Jean Pierce Bills of interest receiving Do Pass Recommendations: HB2009 A / SB141 A are identical bills, both of which received Do Pass recommendations from their respective Education Committees, with subsequent referral to Ways and Means.. They require the Department of Education to study the adequacy of public education in Oregon. SB 315 A would require the Oregon Department of Education to review and make recommendations for recording student absences by school districts as well as school districts' responses to student absences that exceed10 days. (Senate Education) HB 2251A would require school district boards to adopt policies for the use of personal electronic devices by students (excluding laptops) that prohibit the use of personal electronic devices by students during instructional time. It requires policies to provide for the use of devices if medically necessary or part of a student's individualized education program or Section 504 plan.(House Education) Two bills of interest received Do Pass recommendations with referrals to Ways and Means from the House Education Committee. Currently, LWVOR has no K-12 position addressing the need for Attracting and Supporting Well-Qualified Teachers. This is one of the positions being proposed for Concurrence at our state convention. HB 3200 A would provide scholarships for teacher candidates who have experience with diverse populations. HB 3040 A would provide grants for professional development for early literacy coaching for schools and districts for students with the highest needs in 3rd grade proficiency. Impact of Federal Actions on Oregon Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Title I Funding On April 10th, Oregon’s director of education, Charlene Williams responded to a US Department of Education letter requiring states to end programs supporting DEI or lose millions in Title I funding. Dr. Williams reported that Oregon is refusing to sign a letter which would have confirmed compliance with the edict. Oregon receives close to $134 million in Title I funds, which go to 40% of the state’s schools and serve over 200,000 students from low-income families. Lawsuit Concerning Cuts in Funding for Math and Literacy Project: Last week’s Legislative Report noted that the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) had lost millions of dollars in federal funding for literacy and math programs. On April 10th, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined with 15 other Attorneys General to sue the Trump administration for suspending the funding. Math Instructional Framework - Development of a math instructional framework to ensure students across the state are receiving the highest quality math instruction to support their learning and boost their outcomes. Oregon Literacy Practitioners Network - Establishment of a network of Oregon literacy ambassadors sharing best practices among educators to improve the quality of literacy instruction students receive around the state. Oregon Adolescent Literacy Framework Professional Learning Resources - Development of training modules, a collection of research and other literacy resources, as well as practical tools to support educators implementing the newly released Oregon Adolescent Literacy Framework for grades 6-12 in their classroom instruction. Instructional Framework - Development (including research and engagement) of a statewide instructional framework so that regardless of zip code Oregon students can count on excellent instruction. Regional In-Person Training For Educators - In partnership with Oregon’s Education Service Districts, provide five summits throughout the state (along with a communication campaign) for teams to use the new instructional resources in Early and Adolescent Literacy and prepare to bring this learning into their schools and classrooms. ODE detailed the cuts as follows: $1.5 million for a series of different instructional frameworks and the resources to accompany them, $1.2 million for educator development opportunities, $745,000 toward communications and technical assistance. Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) An executive order calling for the end of the Institute for Museum and Library Services has led to the termination of grant programs including the Oregon Battle of the Books. OBOB is a statewide initiative, which invites students in grades 3-12 to compete in teams to answer questions about a variety of books. Congress had approved funding for the program, which brought $26,000 to the state for this popular program. Gun Policy By Marge Easley There was mostly good news on the progress of gun policy bills as the Judiciary Committees reached their deadline for first chamber bills. On the House side, two of the most evidenced-based bills, HB 3075 and HB 3076 , were amended and passed House Judiciary on a 5-3 vote with a do pass recommendation and referred to Ways and Means. HB 3075, containing implementation details for Measure 114 (2022), requires permits to purchase a firearm and bans high-capacity magazines. HB 3076 creates a gun dealer licensing program. However, a big disappointment was the cancellation of the hearing for HB 3074 -1, which would have increased the use of Extreme Risk Protection orders with the goal of lowering Oregon’s high rate of suicide. Hopefully this bill will resurface in 2026. Also cancelled was HB 3884 , which would have facilitated the ability of gun dealers to temporarily store firearms for those at risk of suicide. On the Senate side, two key wins were the passage out of committee of SB 1015 and SB 243 . SB 1015, authorizing funding for community violence Intervention and prevention program, unanimously received a do pass recommendation and a referral to Ways and Means. SB 243, an omnibus bill that originally combined four previous bills, passed out of committee on a 4-2 vote with a Do Pass referral. Although the age restriction of 21 to purchase a firearm was stripped from the bill, it still contains a 72-hour waiting period for a firearm purchase, a ban on rapid fire devices, and a watered-down expansion of the ability of public spaces to be declared “gun free zones.” Housing By Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona Long-term rent assistance for youth On April 16, the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness will hold a hearing on SB 814 A . This bill, administered by Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) would expand eligibility criteria for its existing Long-Term Rent Assistance Program. Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) youth under the age of 25 would have an opportunity to access long-term rental assistance to achieve a greater level of housing security. Youth assisted would be those exiting a childcare center or youth correctional facility. This measure also requires OHCS to consult with the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), among other stakeholders. At least 14% of youth who were committed to OYA since October 2022 have already experienced some period of homelessness. Studies indicate that housing instability increases the risk for recidivism. Achieving success for youth following involvement with the juvenile justice system is challenging at best. Many of these youth have experienced trauma and instability in their childhood and young adult life. Finding suitable housing with a criminal record and no rental experience poses additional hurdles. This bill will assist youth by providing a safe and stable home so they can devote their attention to employment, education, and family. Investing in the success of youth can help them achieve long term stability and success. Also, stable housing can offer a solid foundation for growth and opportunity. The League wrote in testimony in support of this important bill. Immigration By Becky Gladstone and Claudia Keith Bill # Description Policy Committee Status Fiscal M$ Chief Sponsors+ Comments SB 149 Immigration Study JWM waiting for Fiscal Y Sen Jama -3 amendment SB 599A Immig status: discrimnation in RealEstate transactions H Judiciary Sen Campos SB 611 Food for All Oregonians - for undocumented SC HS - JWM Work Sess 4/8 Y Sen Campos Rep Ruiz amendment -1 SB 703 a bipartisan immigration status update funding bill JWM 6 Sen Reynolds, Rep Neron, Ruiz, Smith G Testimony HB 2548 Agricultural Workforce Labor Standards Board. H Rules Rep Valderrama, Nelson , Munoz League Testimony HB 2976 funding for interpretation of indigenous languages. JWM Rep Hartman HB2788 funding to nonprofits to assist w lawful permanent resident status / legal aid - HC ECHS - JWM dead Rep Neron, Ruiz, Sen Reynolds * likely end of session Reconcilation Bill HB 2586 A nonresident tuition exemption for asylum seekers. Sen Ed RepHudson, SenCampos HB 2543 fundsfor universal representation and gives funds to Oregon State Bar for legal immigration matters HC Jud ? 15 Rep Valderrama, Sen Manning Jr, Rep Walters, Andersen, McLain, Sen Campos DAS - see sb 703 HB3193A Farm Worker Relief Fund JWM 10 Rep Marsh, SenPham, RepValderrama OHA HB 5002 Oregon Worker Relief Fund JCWM-GG ? 7 Das Public Safety By Karen Nibler HB 2677 on the expunction process for juvenile court records was tweaked again this session. The expunction laws for law violations by youth under 18 have been revised in the more recent sessions. The court can grant expunction within 60 days of application if there were no felonies or misdemeanors involving violence. So this should be the final revision. The bill was passed with Amendment 7 and sent to Ways and Means. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Governance , and Natural Resources report sections.

Back to All Legislative Reports Natural Resources Legislative Report - Week 1/30 Natural Resources Team Coordinator: Peggy Lynch Coastal Issues: Christine Moffitt, Peggy Lynch Columbia River Treaty: Philip Thor Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries: Joan Fryxell Emergency Management: Rebecca Gladstone Forestry: Josie Koehne Elliott State Research Forest: Peggy Lynch Northwest Energy Coalition: Robin Tokmakian Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: Melanie Moon Oregon Parks and Recreation Department: Jim Buck Oregon Dept. of Transportation: Janice Thompson Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Advisory Committee: Sandra Bishop Water: Peggy Lynch Wildfire: Carolyn Mayers Ways and Means Natural Resource Budgets/Revenue: Peggy Lynch Agriculture Air Quality Budgets/Revenue Climate Coastal Issues Elliott State Research Forest Land Use/Housing Toxics Water Wildfire Volunteers Needed By Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, and Team We have two new volunteers for Natural Resources: Paula Grisafi is providing testimony on Toxics bills. She worked on the Pesticides and Biocides Study and can now put the new positions to use. Carolyn Mayers is following Wildfire issues. She followed the Wildfire hearings at the Dept. of Land Conservation and Development and has concerns with residential buildings in the Wildland Urban Interface. Consider joining them covering issues of your concern. Agriculture The League has been invited to present information at the February Board of Agriculture meeting. We have provided a letter sharing our natural resource area priorities for 2023, along with the full League Action Committee Priorities . On Jan. 31 st , the Ways and Means Natural Resources Subcommittee heard a report from the Dept. of Agriculture on the Oregon Disaster Assistance Program (with slides ). While there was success in helping farmers and ranchers as they dealt with drought, floods, ice storms and excessive heat, there was discussion on a future focus of resiliency programs for agriculture. Look for another Drought package to be introduced this session. Learn more about dry land farming in Western Oregon here . Air Quality By Kathy Moyd SB 488 , the Medical Waste Incinerator Bill (Covanta), is scheduled for a hearing in early February. LWVOR and LWV Marion Polk have provided testimony with concerns about the Covanta facility in past sessions. You might j oin Beyond Toxics, 350 Salem, and Clean Air Now on Feb 6th at 7:00 pm for an overview of the bill (Medical Waste Incineration Act) and hear about upcoming action alerts and how you help reduce air toxics in Oregon! Register here. Budgets/Revenue Governor Kotek’s first biennial budget is here . For natural resource agency budgets, start on page 143 of the web document. The Ways and Means (W&Ms) Subcommittees will begin hearing agency budgets as soon as the bills are introduced. Look for the Parks budget Feb. 7 th . The Governor’s budget is “balanced” with the use of the ending fund balances of $765 million from 2021-23 that would have gone to the Rainy-Day Fund. Oregon’s reserves are at $2 billion and those funds are not expected to be used, nor is the kicker money expected to be returned to taxpayers. More information on potential kicker distribution amounts will be provided during the Feb. 22 nd Revenue Forecast. Kicker amounts won’t be finalized until the 2021-23 budget is closed in Sept. The House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee held an informational hearing on Jan. 23 rd with experts who provided insight into the potential federal programs that Oregon might access from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. LWVOR continues to encourage the Governor and the Legislature to provide staffing to search for and write grants and assure we have staff to implement any programs funded by these federal dollars. The Governor’s budget seems to provide some staffing at the agency level for this work. Climate By Claudia Keith and Team See Climate Report in the Climate Emergency section of this Legislative Report. T here are overlaps with this Natural Resources Report. We encourage you to read both sections. Coastal Issues By Christine Moffitt Peggy Joyce, a “public” representative on the Ocean Policy Advisory Council shares a report from their January meeting: All six of the Rocky Habitat Management strategy proposals approved at the December meeting will now begin their journey toward implementation with a recommendation letter to the Land Conservation and Development Commission. The six proposed and approved Territorial Sea Plan Part Three Rocky Habitat Management Strategy programs are: Ecola Point as a Marine Conservation Area; Chapman Point as a Marine Education Area; Cape Lookout as a Marine Conservation Area ; Fogarty Creek as a Marine Conservation Area with an allowance of subtidal research and a preference for observational research; Cape Foulweather Complex as a Marine Conservation Area with no change to commercial invertebrate harvest and Blacklock Point as a Marine Conservation area. The Board also received an update on the Territorial Sea Plan Part Four Workgroup process on underseas cable placements along the Oregon coast that should be wrapped up after its next group meeting, Feb 1 st . A comprehensive update was presented to the Council by the Elakha Alliance’s efforts to re-introduce sea otters along the Oregon coast. A great deal of research and study along with the hiring of an Executive Director (Jane Bacchieri) last summer has boosted the confidence of the Alliance that they will be able to begin relocation efforts in 2024. Dept. Of Environmental Quality The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission will meet next February 9 and 10 , for a special meeting to interview the two finalists (Leah Feldon and Jamie McLeod-Skinner) for DEQ Director. The special meeting will be held by Zoom, with a toll-free telephone option for audio-only connection, and more information about the interviews and EQC process are available at the agenda webpage . League members engage in this agency’s multiple missions and will be interested in the Commission’s decision. Elliott State Research Forest By Peggy Lynch On Feb. 1 st , the Ways and Means Natural Resources Subcommittee heard a presentation from the Dept. of State Lands on the establishment of the Forest and the nexus with Oregon State University ( calendar links provided ). The League shared our December 2022 State Land Board testimony with committee members. The OSU Board of Trustees is expected to consider the terms of a potential agreement on the role of OSU in the Elliott at its April 14 meeting. If adopted, the resulting agreement would be voted on by a new Elliott State Research Forest Authority Board of Directors anticipated to be formed by the state on Jan. 1, 2024. An advisory Authority Board was appointed by the State Land Board at its December meeting to help shepherd this process. Emergency Services Governor Kotek’s Housing Executive Order 23-02 included a role for the newly formed separate agency: the Oregon Dept. of Emergency Services (ODEM). The agency has 90 staffers. Interim Director Matt Garrett shared in a committee hearing that they have been asked to “Create a construct to receive requests” and will work with OHCS. After rural counties expressed concern that they were not included in ExO 23-02, the counties were instructed to submit a letter to ODEM with information on the extent of and growth of homelessness in their counties from 2017 to 2022. The Governor has since requested $1.8 million to “support the emergency response being coordinated by…” ODEM as part of her urgent budget request on Jan. 26 th . Fish and Wildlife On Jan. 31 st , the Ways and Means Natural Resources Subcommittee heard a presentation from the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife on the success of funding projects related to drought and the effect on our aquatic creatures. Land Use/Housing By Peggy Lynch The League provided testimony on HB 2983 in support of manufactured housing and testimony on SB 534 in support of a pilot $3 million fund to provide financing for the development of infrastructure and other costs, usable only for housing to remain affordable to moderate income households for at least 30 years. HB 2487 allows weddings or other events east of the summit of the Cascades on EFU lands. LWVOR did not testify, but has real concerns that this law change will affect ranching in Eastern Oregon. These properties are also served by water wells, septic systems and rural farm-to-market roads. SB 70 will have a hearing Feb. 8 th in Senate Natural Resources . The bill amends the definition of high-value farmlands for residential rezoning of lands within the Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Region from SB 16 (2021). LWVOR opposed SB 16 due to conversion of EFU lands and the need for water and septic systems for rural housing; however, it did pass in 2021. Because Malheur County has concerns about implementing SB 16 EFU definitions, SB 70 has been filed this session. We continue to be concerned. More land requests being considered by the Semiconductor Committee: two each 500 acres, 4 each of 50 acres and 8 each of 15 acres. Unfortunately, much of this acreage would be at the loss of agricultural lands—the second most important and most stable economic engine in Oregon. HB 2889 : Establishes Oregon Housing Needs Analysis within Housing and Community Services Department. LWVOR supports. You can watch a presentation of this concept in the House Housing Committee on Jan. 17. This is a Priority housing bill for LWVOR this session. See also the Housing Report in the Social Policy section of this Legislative Report. Radioactive Waste By Shirley Weathers The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) has provided to the Rulemaking Advisory Committee (RAC) a first draft of proposed rules for Division 050 Rulemaking Advisory Committee (RAC) on radioactive waste and a matrix presentation of results of a member survey done last year. Members have until March 1, 2023 to submit informal comments to staff. The precise schedule of activities after that point, including a public comment period on the more advanced draft, has not yet been announced. Recycling By Kathy Moyd The Right to Repair bill, SB 542 , will have a hearing Feb. 9 th at 1p. We hear an amendment will be submitted. See the Senate Energy and Environment hearings on Feb. 14 th for bills related to polystyrene and plastics. Toxics By Paula Grisafi LWVOR will follow the Toxics Free Schools bill when it is filed. More to come. Water By Peggy Lynch LWVOR has a statutory seat on the OHA’s Drinking Water Advisory Committee and we need a volunteer! The Secretary of State (SOS) did an advisory report on water. The Oregon Capitol Chronicle provided a good article on the issue. LWVOR participated in a year-long process to consider water processes. A report was provided to the legislature with a series of recommendations. Of particular note is Section 1: Overarching Recommendations. OPB points to the issue of enforcement and decentralized water management. The 2017-2022 Integrated Water Resources Strategy Progress Report provides a list of funding requests. The SOS did a presentation to the House Agriculture, Land use, Natural Resources and Water Committee on Jan. 31 st . Crook County has declared a state of drought emergency for the fourth consecutive year. The measure was taken so that its residents can tap into state funds to alleviate the financial burden brought on by the exceptionally dry conditions. The Governor has to officially declare these drought emergencies. According to the US Drought Monitor, nearly 64% of Oregon is experiencing moderate (D1) to exceptional (D4) drought conditions. Changes over recent weeks include a number of improvements and degradations. Reservoir storage contents in most U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (including Klamath) projects are measuring well below average, with many showing similarities to the past couple water years. The League is reviewing HB 3100 , a bill that updates requirements for the Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS). Section 1 of the bill has many positive additions but Section 2 requires yet another standing Advisory Committee. Committees take staff time and resources and the Water Resources Commission provides adequate oversight. We’ll listen to others as we consider testimony on this bill, but we wholeheartedly support the guidance of the IWRS as it links multiple water agencies towards “abundant clean water for all”. We all need to pay attention to the potential for harmful algal blooms. “When in doubt, stay out.” V isit the Harmful Algae Bloom website or call the Oregon Public Health Division toll-free information line at 877-290-6767 to learn if an advisory has been issued or lifted for a specific water body. We have an on-going drought throughout Oregon and League members may want to check the U.S. Drought Monitor , a map that is updated every Thursday. Wildfire By Carolyn Mayers See hearings on Feb. 6 th in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources for bills related to wildfire. Volunteers Needed Above you can see the names of League volunteers who covered one or more issues. V olunteers are needed. What is your passion related to Natural Resources? You can help. The 2023 legislative session is at hand with over 2,000 bills already filed. Help! Natural Resource Agency Boards and Commissions meet regularly and need monitoring. If any area of natural resources is of interest to you, please contact Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, at peggylynchor@gmail.com . Training will be offered.

/ Youth / Youth Resources / Youth Resources Grants, Scholarships, and Internships Grants and Scholarships Youth Scholarships - Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) United States Senate Youth Program - State of Oregon Internships Youth Council Internship - League of Women Voters of Maine National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC) Other Resources The Flip Museum Oregon Kid Governor Oregon Civics Bee

KARISHMA CHIDAMBARAM (she/her) KARISHMA CHIDAMBARAM (she/her) Youth Media Director youthmedia@lwvor.org

ABBY RENNER (she/her) ABBY RENNER (she/her) YC Climate Team Coordinator youthoutreach@lwvor.org

LAASYA KANAMATHA (she/her) LAASYA KANAMATHA (she/her) DEIJ Youth Chair youthoutreach@lwvor.org

KYRA AGUON (she/her) KYRA AGUON (she/her) Youth Events Co-Chair youtheventschair@lwvor.org

AARNA SHAH (she/her) AARNA SHAH (she/her) Legislative Comms Co Director/Policy youthcommunications@lwvor.org

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - December Interim 2024 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR Joint Ways and Means - Budgets, Lawsuits, Green/Public Banking, Divestment/ESG: Claudia Keith Find additional Climate Change Advocacy volunteers in Natural Resources Jump to a topic: Climate Emergency Highlights December Legislative Days & OCERA Lobby Day Oregon Environmental Justice Council Climate Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust (OCT) Climate Emergency Highlights By Claudia Keith There are over 80 Environment / Climate Legislative Concepts/Bills likely to be posted to OLIS in January. At this point a few have been identified as potential League policy and budget priorities: Update to Greenhouse Emission Reduction Goals. Bringing back SB 1559 (2024) Natural and Working Lands ( OCAC NWL Report ) Treasury: Fossil Fuel Divestment Community Resilience Hubs and Networks Study on Small-Scale Renewable Energy Solutions/Projects Study / Task Force on public financing ( 2024 HB 4155 ) Energy Affordability and Utility Accountability Package Environmental Rights Constitutional Amendment Referral Climate Friendly Transportation LWV Oregon’s environmental coalition partner Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) has recently selected their policy and budget priorities which include two Climate-related topics: Energy Affordability and Utility Accountability. There will be more in the next Legislative Report. December Legislative Days & OCERA Lobby Day By Claudia Keith The League attended , several committee hearings Dec 10 and 11th and participated in OCERA ( Oregon Coalition Environmental Rights Amendment) Dec 11 Lobby Day LC 2562 -- the Right to a Clean, Safe, and Healthy Environment. At this point the League agrees with the concept of LC 2562. Because this is a constitutional amendment it requires referral to the 2025 ballot . One of OCERA’s major sponsors is Our Children’s Trust , with a number of other Oregon partners . Policy topics heard during the day included: K-12 Climate Curriculum and Public Financing Task Force LC’s. Both of these policy/budget topics failed to move during 2024 session. House and Senate Environment Energy Climate committee s agendas included a number of timely topics: House: Climate Friendly Equitable, Community Resiliency, detail LC list, Nuclear Reactors and Wildfire funding. Senate: Oregon Climate Action Commission, detail LC List, Clean Energy Act ( 2021 HP2021), Deq CPP and Regional Power Planning follow-up. Oregon Environmental Justice Council Dec 12 and 19 2024 Meetings: Environmental Justice Mapping Tool - Meeting Materials Meeting Agenda included leadership updates, annual reporting and next steps. See 2022 HB 4077 for original legislation Comprehensive Legislator Nov and Dec 2024 Newsletters Sen Dembrow Rep Gomberg Rep Marsh Sen Brock Smith Rep Owens The Legislative Environmental Caucus will be posting to this page priority updates starting soon. Climate Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust (OCT) By Claudia Keith Recent OCT Press Releases: December 9, 2024: Juliana Plaintiffs Take Standing Fight for Constitutional Rights to U.S. Supreme Court with Petition for Certiorari December 5, 2024: Our Children’s Submits Intervention to European Court of Human Rights in its Newest Climate Case with Latest Scientific Findings Here is one example of how to track DEQ CPP cases. Basically, there are several active federal lawsuits , Dec 2024 update) ‘Oregon Federal Court Said Youth Plaintiffs Could Proceed with Due Process and Public Trust Claims in Climate Suit’, some of which could assist in meeting Oregon's Net Zero GHG Emissions before 2050 targets, and other lawsuits, that challenge the current Oregon DEQ CPP policy, which would limit the use of fossil fuels, including diesel, natural gas, and propane over time. Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 83 lawsuits , mentioning OREGON.

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Week of March 2 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR 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. Jump to a topic: Priority Bills Other Bills Senate Energy and Environment News Oregon Treasury Climate Lawsuits Sine die is 3/8 -now just around the corner. Very few policy only bills passed this session. The deadline for 2nd chamber for most policy bills was 2/26. A number of Climate bills with fiscals are in JWM or Rules, the League is not clear if any of these bills will move. (please see last week’s LR for how to advocate for those bills) and refer to the League's recent ALERT . Priority Bills SB 1541 A - Make Polluters Pay - Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program. New SMS , Senate Energy and Environment , PH 2/5 and work session 2/10 , - 2 amendment , moved 2/12 to Joint Ways and Means (JWM) . LWVOR submitted testimony . Creates the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program to assess financial impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and recover costs from responsible entities. Multiple state agencies are involved including, Department of Land Conservation and Development, DLCD, Department of Environmental Quality, DEQ, Oregon Health Authority, OHA, and Land Conservation and Development Commission. LCDC, the oversight body is Environmental Quality Commission (EQC). The League has joined the Make Polluters Pay Campaign . This climate legislation is a national effort covered today by the New York Times , reporting that a number of other states are in the process of passing and/or implementing similar legislation. Please see the League’s Action Alert. SB 1526 A - FORGE: Fund for Oregon Resilience, Growth, and Energy - New SMS , work session was 2/9, Senate Energy and Environment (SEE) moved the bill to JWM, League testimony . Creates financing tools, including a revolving loan fund, to provide more affordable, accessible long-term financing for clean energy and resilience infrastructure projects in Oregon. This is modeled on a number of other states’ legislation , some as "green" banking nonprofits.
 Please see the Action Alert. Other Bills the League is following: HB 4046A Nuclear Study Bill, work session was 2/12, moved to JWM 2/17, unanimously as amended. New SMS , directs the Oregon Department of Energy, subject to the availability of funding, to conduct a study on nuclear energy, including advanced nuclear reactors. The -2 amendment, a substantial rewrite of the original bill negotiated with opponents, seemed to satisfy committee members that the study could be unbiased as to nuclear energy issues. 
 
 HB 4031 A : new SMS , 2/27 on its way to the governor . Exempts a renewable energy facility from needing a site certificate from the Energy Facility Siting Council if the facility qualifies for certain federal renewable energy tax credits a nd construction is scheduled to begin on or before December 31, 2028. 
 
 SB 1597 A in H Rules PH 2/27. Sen chamber vote 2/23 17,12. Makes a power provider disclose the costs to store the waste made from making any electric power. New SMS 
 
 Bill that died in Policy Committee SB 1582 , Community-Based Power: Distributed Power Plants, SEE Senate E&E Committee PH Notes Senate Energy and Environment 2/23/26 The committee held public hearings and work sessions on the following bills, and voted to move all three to the Senate floor with a do pass recommendation. HB 4031 A (expedited site review for renewable energy projects) -- 5-0 HB 4025 (winter rate increases for non-gas, non-electric public utilities) -- 5.0 HB 4029 A (consumer protection for solar installation customers) -- 4-1 (Robinson, concerned about restraint of competition) Chair Sollman postponed the WS for HB 4102 (third-party contracting for environmental permitting) to Wednesday 2/25. With a vote of 17-12 2/25/26 The committee voted 3-1-1 (Pham nay, Brock Smith excused) to move HB 4102 to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation. Sen. Golden: This bill has been more of a "voyage" than he imagined it would be. Senate E&E has focused mainly on Sen. Pham's proposed -2 amendment dealing with labor rights and good governance. He would have preferred to move the bill with the one-sentence -3 amendment requested by Rep. Dobson: “Before contracting with a third party to provide services pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the third party’s potential or actual conflicts of interest with the applicant, permittee or regulated entity.” However, time limitations of the short session make amending the bill at this point problematic. "Very likely we will be privatizing some of the permit process and other processes going forward" -- we would prefer that staff working for the taxpayers would do this work but we recognize that we have delays that we need to address. He wants to state on the record "triple underscored" the committee's intent that when DEQ hires a third party for permit processing, they will commit to be very vigilant in their research about conflicts of interest. Sen. Robinson: Supports the bill as a "bandaid" measure to expedite permitting whereas the larger need is to "reform DEQ." Sen. Pham: Regretful "no" as she believes the bill as introduced lacks adequate guardrails vs. conflicts of interest and fails to address important labor issues. Chair Sollman: House passed the original bill unanimously and she doesn't want to take the chance of killing the measure by sending it back amended. News Regulators to Hold Public Hearing on Large Increase for Cascade Home Gas Bills and What to Expect at Cascade Gas’s Public Hearing | Latest News | News | Oregon CUB - Citizens Utility Board Eugene groups propose climate tax to mirror Portland’s - OPB How Oregon is building back smarter after wildfire • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon Adopts New Building Codes to Reduce Energy Costs and Increase Energy Efficiency in Newly Constructed Homes – CleanTechnica Oregon’s New Building Codes Are a Win for Home Energy Resilience - Oregon Environmental Council Oregon lawmakers seek to shine a light on balcony solar, but safety issues linger - OPB Oregon DOE Feb Press Releases – a number of updates… Oregon State Treasurer Steiner Joins 15 Other State Fiscal Officers in Warning That Immigration Enforcement Operations Threaten Economic Stability and State Revenues February 5, 2026Oregon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner MD joined fifteen other state fiscal officers in a joint letter to President Donald Trump expressing … Oregon Treasury & Oregon Divest Building on Oregon Treasury’s 2025 Progress toward Net Zero Emissions - Part 1 (Divest Oregon ORG) New 2025 Treasury : Climate-Positive Investing : Invested for Oregon Report Tracking Net zero climate positive investment strategies. Oregon pension shows climate progress , private markets drive emissions | Private Equity Stakeholder Project.org Climate Lawsuits and Our Children’s Trust Columbia Law - Sabin Climate Center Blog – Feb 2026 updates There are a number of active federal lawsuits. Columbia University Law ( CUL) Climate Litigation Jan 30 Updates . Another source: CLU - Sabin Climate DB lists 97 lawsuits , (active and dismissed) mentioning Oregon. Our Children’s Trust - In the News: February 19, 2026 - E&E News Enviros, health groups are first to sue over Trump’s big climate rollback February 18, 2026 - The Guardian Environmental groups sue Trump’s EPA over repeal of landmark climate finding February 18, 2026 - The New York Times E.P.A Faces First Lawsuit Over Its Killing of Major Climate Rule February 18, 2026 - Climate in the Courts Environment and Public Health Groups, and Youth, Sue Over Trump Administration’s Elimination of Climate Protections February 18, 2026 - Inside Climate News Healthcare Professionals, Scientists and Children Sue the EPA for Backtracking on Greenhouse Gas Regulation February 18, 2026 - Bloomberg Law Endangerment Finding Rollback Draws First Legal Challenges (1) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED : What is your passion related to Climate Emergency ? You can help. V olunteers 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. · Natural and Working lands, specifically Agriculture · Transportation and ODOT state agency · Climate Related Lawsuits/Our Children’s TrustDA · Public Health Climate Adaptation (OHA) · Regional Solutions / Infrastructure (with NR team) · State Pr ocurement Practices (DAS: Dept. of Admin. Services) · CE Portfolio State Agency and Commission Budgets · Oregon Treasury: ESG investing/Fossil Fuel divestment Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Governance , Revenue , Natural Resources , and Social Policy report section

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Week of January 26 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR 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. Jump to a topic: Climate Emergency Highlights Senate Committees Other Topics - LWVOR and Local League Climate Emergency Highlights Claudia Keith This is a short 5-week Legislative session, most bills must have work sessions scheduled in the first chamber by mid Feb to stay active. There are now many Legislative Concepts’s waiting for Bill numbers for Environment / Climate Legislative soon to be posted to OLIS by no later than 28 th of January. At this point here are a few that have been identified as potential League policy and or budget Climate priorities: Senate Committees Energy and Environment LC 226, - The measure directs the Oregon Department of Energy to seek grant funding to convene a founding board and, upon securing sufficient funds, directs the board to establish a nonprofit entity to finance clean energy and resilience projects . Basically, A Public/Green Banking theme Natural Resources & Wildfire LC 0183, – Creates the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program t o assess financial impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and recover costs from responsible entities. Designates the Department of Land Conservation and Development to lead an interagency team, directs the Department of Environmental Quality to issue cost-recovery notices, and establishes a dedicated account to receive funds. House Committee Climate & Energy LC 283 , – Requires solar energy contractors and installers to hold licenses appropriate to the work they perform and sets mandatory disclosures and contract elements for solar purchase, lease, and power purchase agreements. Prohibits deceptive statements, with violations treated as unlawful practices under the Unlawful Trade Practices Act. (see 2025) LC 286 , – Exempts an energy facility from needing an Energy Facility Siting Council site certificate if the energy facility produces power from a renewable energy source, construction begins on or before December 31, 2028, and it qualifies for certain federal renewable energy tax credits. The League is a founding member of OCN network ~46 member organizations which includes Olcv Climate Solutions ' Defend and Deliver Moment', , OEC , Sierra Club and many others. Some of their priorities: Make Polluters Pay - Climate Superfund (see above LC 183) Defending Existing Climate / Energy related policies and funding Bills. Some may compliment Gov Kotek’s recent 25-29 Energy Executive Orders . Major themes Lower household energy costs Address financing gaps left by federal funding cuts (public/green banking structures?) Protect and grow local clean energy and construction jobs and address Data Center issues . Strengthen resilience, especially for rural and frontline communities Other Topics - LWVOR and Local League Nuclear , Natural Gas expansion in Lane County and PUC related Legislation ‘ A 9-gigawatt problem’ : Northwest’s soaring energy demand, supply constraints, could spark new power crisis - oregonlive.com CUB Endorses the Power to the People Act | News | Oregon CUB New labor coalition hopes to spur job growth to meet Oregon’s clean energy targets • Oregon Capital Chronicle The Pacific Coast Intermodal Port Project Coos County North Bend council signals support for county on natural gas pipeline negotiations VOLUNTEERS NEEDED : What is your passion related to Climate Emergency ? You can help. V olunteers 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

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - September Interim Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR Joint Ways and Means - Budgets, Lawsuits, Green/Public Banking, Divestment/ESG: Claudia Keith Find additional Climate Change Advocacy volunteers in Natural Resources Jump to a topic: Action Alerts Oregon Global Warming Commission (OGWC) Climate County, State, Federal, and Global Lawsuits Climate Lawsuit News Our Children’s Trust Volunteers Needed By Claudia Keith, Climate Emergency Coordinator and team Please consider joining the CE team; we have several critical openings. Contact us through our “Get In Touch” website form for further information about volunteer opportunities. We expect transportation to be a major policy topic during the 2025 long legislative session. Energy Policy: Arlene Sherrett and Greg Martin Environmental Justice: Nancy Rosenberger Natural and Working Lands (NWL) Forestry: Josie Koehne Efficient & Resilient Buildings: Arlene Sherrett Transportation: Vacant NWL Agriculture: Vacant Public Health: Vacant Fossil Fuel (FF) Infrastructure: Vacant Our Children’s Trust and other Climate Lawsuits: Claudia Keith Climate Change Budget/Funding, OEA/Risk disclosure, ESG/FF divestment Treasury: Claudia Keith Action Alerts LWVOR ALERT to Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) Climate Protection Program Rulemaking staff and the Environmental Quality Commission . Their Deadline is Oct 13, 2023. The League continues to advocate for strong ODEQ Climate Protection Program (CPP) rules. We have been participating in the CPP rulemaking since its inception in 2021. We cite our own LWVOR public comments from the Oct 5, 2023, CPP rulemaking. The League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) strongly supports the CPP’s primary goals as identified by ODEQ from the beginning of its original rulemaking: Emissions: Achieve significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions Equity: Promote benefits and alleviate burdens for environmental justice communities and impacted communities Costs: Contain costs for businesses and consumers LWVOR & LWV ALERT : Urge Congress to Address the Climate Crisis & Protect Our Youth ! “Do not let future generations inherit the climate crisis. Urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor the Children’s Fundamental Rights and Recovery Resolution to address climate change and protect our youth’s rights and future!”. Learn more by reading: Markey Joins Merkley, Colleagues in Introducing Resolution for Climate Recovery Planning to Stand Up for Children’s Fundamental Right to a Healthy, Livable Planet ’ Oregon Global Warming Commission (OGWC) August 2023 Meeting Notes By Greg Martin Introduction The Oregon Global Warming Commission, created by the 2007 Oregon Legislature through House Bill 3543, is charged with tracking trends in greenhouse gas emissions and recommending ways to coordinate state and local efforts to reduce emissions in Oregon. Opening remarks and commissioner updates. Chair Macdonald introduced new commissioner Rep. Bobby Levy. Megan Decker, OPUC (Oregon Public Utility Commission). HB 2021 requires Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power (PP) to plan to achieve aggressive GHG (greenhouse gas) reductions by 2050 as part of the CPP, Climate Protection Program. The CPP sets a declining cap on GHG emissions from fossil fuels with the goal to dramatically reduce these emissions over the next 30 years. OPUC oversight can guide the utilities toward that goal but regulatory enforcement has its limitations. OPUC requires comprehensive forward planning every two years and is now in the middle of reviewing the utilities’ first plans addressing HB 2021. The next two-year planning phase will begin in 2024 and public engagement is important. The utility websites detail opportunities for engagement. Oregon Renewable Energy Siting Assessment (ORESA) ODOE Facility Siting Division staff presented an overview of the ORESA project . ORESA was funded by a $1.1 million U.S. DOD grant. A key goal is compatibility of renewable energy siting with military facilities. The online mapping/reporting tool, Oregon Explorer , provides layers of comprehensive GIS data for energy development and other purposes, including data on “community [EJ] considerations.” The ORESA project report , a key deliverable for the grant, found that Oregon has enough renewable energy potential to meet its energy and climate goals, though tradeoffs will be needed and challenges related to transmission infrastructure will have to be met. ODOE’s 2022 Biennial Energy Report: Charting a Course for Oregon’s Energy Future ODOE’s Amy Schlusser presented a policy brief overview. Oregon’s electricity demand is projected to increase by 50 to 100% by 2050. We will need to replace existing fossil resources with tens of gigawatts of new renewable resources – a substantial effort under any scenario – while increasing energy efficiency to offset demand growth as much as possible. High costs and land use impacts will be significant challenges. We need to identify optimal pathways to achieve the needed buildout, including determining the future role of natural gas (NG). The demand for NG is projected to drop dramatically, mainly in building and industrial sectors, but some reserve capacity will be needed to ensure grid reliability. The policy brief recommended the state undertake a robust stakeholder process to develop a comprehensive state energy strategy. HB 3630 enacted in 2023 directs ODOE to take on this task and ODOE is in the early stages of planning and contracting. Key questions include costs vs. benefits, how much clean energy we need and how fast can we develop it, how we will protect vulnerable communities, and balance farm and forest land protection against the need for new transmission, etc. Legislative Update from ODOE Christy Splitt presented an overview of ODOE’s 2023 Legislative Report , an excellent summary of background and key provisions of climate-related bills enacted this session (including budget bills), as well as some bills not passed. Helpfully, it breaks out the many disparate topics of the two major Climate Package bills with reference to the bills of origin. The GOP walkout and the large number of new members helped shape the session outcomes, but the main factor that made a difference in climate legislation was the higher-than-expected state budget – e.g., making additional dollars available for energy incentive programs. Major themes:the Resilient Efficient Buildings Task Force Pre-session work paid off, as the highest-profile measures passed as part of the Climate Package. The Building Performance Standard program in HB 3409 was the largest of many tasks added to ODOE’s plate. Resilient communities (resilience hubs and plans, grid resilience, more incentive dollars) were another important focus of response to the 2020 wildfires and 2021 heat dome. Sen. Dembrow called it a “surprisingly positive” session in that we moved forward on issues we’ve been talking about for some time. He plans to bring back the GHG reduction targets (deleted from the Climate Package) in the next session with the goal of setting the targets in statute. Draft OGWC Work Plan presentation and discussion The commission’s draft work plan through 2024 was available for public and agency comment through Friday, September 1. Commission discussion focused on how to rationalize the plan for performing all of the new tasks assigned to ODOE. The next meeting was set for late Sept. or early Oct., topics including the Institute for Natural Resources report on Natural and Working Lands work undertaken during the past year. ----- OGWC Oct 9 Meeting Agenda and Meeting Materials OEA & Security Exchange Commission (SEC): The League Responds to SEC Proposal to Require Climate Risk Disclosure | League of Women Voters.(The June 2022 LWVUS testimony was proposed by LWVOR Action Committee). Related, The League is monitoring the OEA Oregon quarterly economic / revenue forecasts to the Legislature. These reports continue to ignore climate risk disclosure. Related NEWS: Oct 2023, Recent ESG developments point to progress despite polarized US political climate - Thomson Reuters Institute. Oct 2023, What CPAs Need to Know About the SEC Climate-Related Risk Proposal - The CPA Journal. Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Expansion – “Notably absent from the agenda Thursday morning was the proposed GTN Xpress project, which would increase the flow of natural gas through an existing pipeline system in parts of Idaho, Washington state and Oregon.“ “ Yesterday, Oregon Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden urged FERC to deny the project , arguing that it was incompatible with Oregon and Washington’s climate goals. EE Wire : “Oregon senators: Gas pipeline 'not in the public interest'. Note, In 2015 LWV Portland and LWVOR provided public testimonies opposing any major Oregon Fossil Fuel infrastructure expansion. Portland Oil Storage: Newly obtained records show Portland officials’ private interactions with Zenith Energy - Zenith Energy’s fossil fuel storage and transport facility faces criticism for potential environmental dangers, particularly in the event of an earthquake.| Street Roots. State Treasury: Counter to ESG / Climate Risk analysis recommendations the July 2023, Treasury has increased the Fossil Fuel investment portfolio. Multnomah County chose to sue Big Oil and McKinsey for climate damage … and the Oregon Treasury chose to invest in Big Oil and hire McKinsey . The OIC (Oregon Investment Council ) Sept 2023 meeting agenda and report . Oregon Attorney General DOJ Climate work: OFFICE OF THE AG, Spotlight: Warming Climate (list of a number of DOJ actions related to Climate issues) Climate County, State, Federal and Global Lawsuits Numerous lawsuits are challenging Oregon’s DEQ CPP regulations. Gas, oil companies argue against Oregon’s emission deadlines during Court of Appeals hearing -- Several dozen people gathered afterwards to support those rules, which require a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. -– Oregon Capital Chronicle. Here is one example of how to track them. Basically, there are several active state federal lawsuits , (Sept 2023 update) some of which could assist in meeting Oregon's Net Zero GHG Emissions before 2050 targets and other lawsuits, that challenge current Oregon DEQ CPP policy, which would limit the use of fossil fuels, including diesel, natural gas, and propane over time. Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 67 lawsuits , mentioning OREGON. Youth vs Europe: 'Unprecedented' climate trial unfolds at rights court | Reuters. Climate Change in Court: New Trends and Legal Grounds - Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA | CGEP. (GUEST Michael B. Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, Director, Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School) Climate Lawsuit News Montana appeals climate change ruling for youth plaintiffs - Los Angeles Times. Hawaii youth-led climate lawsuit advances in the background of Maui wildfires - As residents of Hawaii work to help their neighbors on Maui recover from the worst fire in the state’s history, young people are demanding more accountability from local leaders. - A group of youth, including many indigenous to Hawaii, are suing the state’s Department of Transportation over climate change. | Wbur : Here & Now Our Children’s Trust October 4, 2023 Human Rights Organizations, Children’s Rights Advocates, Legal Scholars File Amicus Briefs in Support of Utah Youth Climate Case September 20, 2023 Attorneys for Youth Plaintiffs in Natalie R. v. State of Utah Make Case for Constitutional Climate Case to Be Heard in Court September 19, 2023 Announcing “Overturning 1.5°C: Calling for the Science Turn in Rights-Based Climate Litigation” I-5 Portland/Vancouver Bridge: I-5 Bridge Bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers tours I-5 Bridge - Program administrator: It’s important for people to see project urgency, Sept 2023, The Columbian. Recommended Newsletters: Senator Dembrow Senator Golden Rep Pam Marsh Volunteers Needed Request to Local Leagues; please let us know your climate, resilience, or sustainability advocacy actions. Please consider joining the CE portfolio team; we lack volunteers in critical policy science/technology, finance, and law areas. We collaborate with Natural Resource Action members on many Climate Change mitigation and adaptation policy topics. Volunteers are needed: CE Coordinator. Orientation to Legislative and State Agency advocacy processes is available.

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Week of 6/23 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR 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. Jump to a topic: Federal Oregon Joint Ways and Means CE Funding Topics Oregon Treasury Other Climate Bills Climate Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust There are less than 7 days until the end of session and a number of bills and state agency funding priorities are still waiting to move. The League expects some funding for existing agency climate programs in the reconciliation bill. Transportation Legislation HB 2025 is a major topic these last 14 days. ‘2 Oregon Democrats balk at transportation bill as session nears its end’, | OPB. The nearly $2 B package needs a majority vote for it to advance out of committee and to the floor of the legislative chamber. To pass out of each chamber the bill requires a 60% majority. We expect new bill amendments to be posted on Monday that include negotiated inputs from both parties. Special Session? The League is aware of a possible special September session that could address a number of significant Federal Admin policy funding issues. Federal ‘Set up for failure’: Trump’s cuts bring climate and energy agencies to a standstill, workers say - POLITICO How Trump’s assault on science is blinding America to climate change - E&E News by POLITICO Federal agency cuts freeze climate research, stall disaster prep, and disrupt clean energy projects June 16, 2025 - Bloomberg Law | Youth Plaintiffs Urge Court to Block Energy Executive Orders June 16, 2025 - E&E News | 22 climate activists request emergency injunction to stop Trump EOs The Trump administration's workforce reductions and budget restrictions are hobbling key federal agencies, stalling climate research, disaster preparedness... | The Daily Climate Science policy this week : Jun 16, 2025 - AIP.ORG (American Institute of Physics AIP.ORG ) 
 How the Five Pillars of U.S. Climate Policy are Threatened – Environmental and Energy Law Program | Harvard Oregon Oregon Legislature sends clean-energy investment bill to governor | Pensions & Investments Carbon-neutral public retirement plan closer to becoming law in Oregon - oregonlive.com Joint Ways and Means CE Funding Topics By Claudia Keith Energy Affordability and Utility Accountability The League joined a coalition sign-on letter in April requesting funding to support building resilience. The goal is to use affordable measures to protect people from extreme weather. The League supports full funding for the following 8 JWM priority budget topics: 1). Transportation ODOT Package HB 2025 The League supports OCN and other statewide NGO budget priorities: Increase funding above 2017 levels for public transit




 Increase funding above 2017 levels for a safe, complete multimodal system (i.e. GreatStreets, Safe Routes to School, Oregon Community Paths, and bike/ped both on-street and trails, etc.) 




 Dedicated or increased revenue for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicle incentives, including for charging and purchasing of ZEVs 
 (Please see Natural Resources Legislative Report on Transportation) 
 2. One Stop Shop 2.0/Energy Efficiency Navigation ( HB 3081A ): In JWM: This bill would create a navigation program at ODOE to help Oregonians access federal, state, local, and utility energy efficiency incentives all in one place 3. Get the Junk Out of Rates ( SB 88 ): still in Senate Rules: Not likely to move . This bill would stop utilities from charging certain expenses like lobbying, advertising, association fees to customers. 4. HB 3546: Protecting Oregonians with Energy Responsibility (POWER Act) Governor signed 6/16. This bill ensures Oregon households are not unfairly burdened by large energy users with grid and transmission costs. 5. Full Funding for Climate Resilience programs. (It is likely these programs will get a portion of the original ask.) Reinvesting the same amount as last biennium in three programs: 
 
 
 Rental Home Heat Pump Program (ODOE), $30m 
 
 
 
 
 Community Heat Pump Deployment Program (ODOE), $15m 
 
 
 
 
 Community Resilience Hubs (OREM), $10m ( House Bill 3170 ) 
 
 
 
 
 6. Environmental Justice Bills. (disadvantaged communities) HB 3170 : Community Resilience Hubs and networks : Fiscal $10M Work Session 3/4, passed to JWM, DHS, Sponsors, Rep. Marsh, Sen Pham and Rep Tan. League testimony 
 
 
 
 . HB2548 : in JWM SC CC WS 6/20 . An agriculture workforce labor standards PSU and OSU study, HR PH was 5/29. New -9 amendment changing the bill to a study with $667K fiscal. League Testimony . 7. Natural and Working Lands: HB 5039 A financial administration of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board; passed out of House 6/13 and Senate 6/19 , League testimony 


 
 
 
 
. Budget report and measure summary lists all budget details. See -2 amendment for 6/6 changes. These NWL bills appear not to be moving out of committee. HB 3489 Timber Severance Tax. House Committee on Revenue. League Testimony for original bill and for -1 Amendment . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 HB 3103A – work session was 3/31. Moved to JWM, Overweight Timber Harvest , League Testimony , new adopted -5 amendment . 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package Update, it is unlikely these bills will be moving this session. HB 2152 : Testimony ; work session held 4/8, passed, moved to Joint Ways and Means (JWM) -2 amendments , Staff Measure Summar y (SMS). $1M+ fiscal 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 HB 2949 : T estimony ; work session held 4/8 , passed to JWM w -5 amendment new SMS. Fiscal is not available, will be completed if the bill gets a hearing in JWM NR SC. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 HB 3450 A Testimony , work session held, 4/8 passed adopted amendment -1 . fisca l >1M$. referred to JWM 4/11 . 2 bills are still viable. The fate of these bills is, first of all, dependent on what happens with the transportation package. It seems that there are two or three options on that front: (a) The Dems fail to get a transportation package that brings in revenues from new sources. In this case, they’ll need to fund ODOT from the general fund and there will be NO monies available for the many policy bills that were referred to Joint Ways & Means. The CEI Hub bills along with many others will not be funded. (b) The Dems succeed in passing a transportation package that brings in new revenues to fund ODOT. In this case, a select number of policy bills will be quickly considered and funded. Some weeks ago, leadership asked Committee Chairs to provide a prioritized list of bills. Those at the top of the priority lists are the most likely to be funded. Two CEI Hub bills are in this category, see below. (c ) third scenario, the Republicans walk out of one of the chambers now that there are less than 10 days to the constitutional end of session, June 29. Two CEI Hub bills are among the top priority bills: HB 2949 – Risk bond requirement. Rep. Tran ranked this as her committee’s top priority bill. She is in conversation with DEQ about ways to lower the cost of the bill (the bill passed through committee without a $ figure, but apparently DEQ has now provided Rep. Tran’s office with a $ figure). One cost-cutting change is to remove the requirement that DEQ report to the legislature. Not sure how this cuts costs, since any committee can call on an agency to report during a public hearing, but it apparently does. They are discussing other options for reducing the cost to the general fund. I was assured that none of these change the substance of the risk bond requirements. Notably, the WSPA/industry lobbyist has been in the building in recent weeks talking with legislative leadership in support of HB 2949. Apparently, they are most intent on preventing multiple jurisdictions setting multiple risk bond requirements. HB 2152 – geographical distribution of fuels for disaster response. This bill seems likely to be folded into a bill that Rep. Paul Evans ranked as his number one priority, thus elevating it to the top tier for consideration. This brings one substantive change: ODOE would be required to do this planning, but funding for the larger Evans bill kicks in in two years. Not ideal, but better than no bill; and having the policy mandate in place makes funding more likely. The changes described above and some still in the works won’t be filed as amendments until it’s clear whether and how leadership ultimately decides to assign bills to Ways & Means Capital Construction Subcommittee . So, they don’t appear in OLIS. Given the many uncertainties, I asked what we can do at this point to support these bills. In the meantime, staying tuned in to the fate of the transportation package is our best way of knowing whether these CEI Hub bills will be considered for funding this session. For latest developments, see today’s article in the Oregon Capital Chronicle, here . Bills that are unlikely to pass: HB 3492: Hazmat release study bill – as far as I know it wasn’t put forward as a top priority bill by any committee or committee chair. HB 3450: CEI Hub Transition Planning – the version that passed out of committee was so weak that we asked Rep. Tran to not push for enactment. Definitely dead: HB 2151: expand the possible uses of the Seismic Risk Mitigation Fund – this bill did not pass out of committee Oregon Treasury: Oregon Divest/ Environmental, Social, and Governance Updates By Claudia Keith HB 2081A : Passed House and Senate, speaker and president have signed on its way to the governor. Directs the Oregon Investment Council and the State Treasurer to take certain actions to manage the risks of climate change to the Public Employees Retirement Fund. Oregon Public Financing / BANK

 HB 2966 A: Establishes the State Public Financing / public bank Task Force, Likely to die in committee. Work Session was 3/6/2025 passed to Joint Ways and Means (JWM), fiscal: .94M League Testimony Other Climate Legislation Environmental Rights Constitutional Amendment Likely dead, at this point in the session, it is doubtful SJR 28 has enough support to move out of Sen Rules. SJR 28 proposed -1 amendment , Environmental Rights Constitutional amendment (ERA) S enate Joint Resolution - with referral to the 2026 ballot, public hearing was 3/26 . The League provided support with comments testimony . The OCERA coalition appears to be planning a ballot initiative campaign. ‘ Supporters of Oregon Green Amendment rally at the Oregon State Capitol ‘ | Salem Statesman Journal. Other Climate Bills - Active SB 827A : Solar and Storage Rebate , Governor signed 5/28 HB 3546 Enrolled , POWER Act , House Speaker and Senate president signed 6/9. new GIS 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, The League is listed on a coalition sign on advocacy letter . 
 HB 3963 Offshore Wind: in Senate, 2nd reading 6/20. Extends the deadline from Sept 1, 2025, to Jan 1, 2027, for the DLCD to draft and submit a report to the Legislative Assembly on the department's activities to develop an Offshore Wind Roadmap and its assessment of enforceable state policies related to offshore wind energy development off the Oregon coast. 
 
 
 HB 3653 Enrolled Gov signed 5/27 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.



 HB 2065 A and HB 2066 A : Microgrid Package, In House – third reading 
6/23, HB 2065 preliminary budget 6/17 and Preliminary HB 2066 Budget 6/17 HB 2566 A : Stand-alone Energy resilience Projects , Work Session was 3/20, moved to JWM, Rep Gamba was the only nay. Fiscal $169K At the request of Governor Tina Kotek (H CEE), DOE presentation 


 
 
 
 The House concurred to Senate amendments and repassed HB 3336 A by a vote of 41-12. House repasses grid-enhancing technologies bill Inactive Bills: likely will end session in committee: Study of Nuclear Energy ( HB 2038 ) in JWM: This measure proposes that the Oregon Department of Energy study nuclear energy and waste disposal. 
 
 
 
 SB 688 A: -5 , Public Utility Commission performance-based regulation of electric utilities, PH 3/12,& 3/19, work session 3/24, updated $ 974K fiscal , moved to JWM, Sub Cmt Natural Resources. League testimony , Sen. Golden, Sen. Pham 
 
 
 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. Senators 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. 
 
 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 June 13 Updates Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 85 lawsuits , (active and dismissed) mentioning Oregon. 2025 Congressional Resolution * — Our Children's Trust LWVOR has requested LWV to provide congressional advocacy and approval to LWVOR to lobby Oregon’s Congressional team concerning Congressional * Children's Fundamental Rights to Life and Stable Climate System resolution, supporting the principles underpinning Lighthiser v. Trump , the new case brought by 22 young Americans challenging the Trump administration’s pro-fossil fuel and anti-climate science Executive Orders. The resolution is sponsored by Representatives Schakowsky, Jayapal, and Raskin. They are also working with Senator Merkley’s office. Press releases from Our Children’s Trust June 14, 2025: Youth Plaintiffs Seek Emergency Court Order to Halt Trump’s Fossil Fuel Executive Orders VOLUNTEERS NEEDED : What is your passion related to Climate Emergency ? You can help. V olunteers 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

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Week of 5/29 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR Joint Ways and Means - Budgets, Lawsuits, Green/Public Banking, Divestment/ESG: Claudia Keith Find additional Climate Change Advocacy volunteers in Natural Resources By Claudia Keith, Climate Emergency Coordinator Some good news from State Senator Michael Dembrow’s May 28th Update from SD 23 . Many LWVOR climate related priority and other bills are listed in the drafted Legislative Climate Funding Package, not yet posted to OLIS. Here’s an excerpt: “ Legislative Counsel is finishing up the drafting of the amendments to these placeholders, which will become the final bills. The amendments should all be posted on OLIS early this week. I expect that they will be assigned to Ways and Means subcommittees and passed to the full Ways and Means Committee by the end of the week. Funding Package #1 : Climate Action The first funding package that I worked on will be HB 3409, which brings together and funds a number of bills related to climate action. The package invests nearly $100 million in crucial climate action this session, though it has the potential to draw down many times that amount in federal funding that has become available. Here are the programs and policies that are included in this package. I’ll provide more explanation and the final funding levels in the future. Here are the bills included in the package: · REBuilding Bills (SB 868, 869, 870, 871, HB 3166) · State Energy Strategy and Resilience Planning (HB 2534 & 3378) · Community Resilience Hubs (HB 2990) · Community Green Infrastructure Act AKA TREES Act (HB 3016) · Woody Biomass for Low-Carbon Fuels (HB 3590) · Environmental Justice and Tribal Navigator (SB 852) · Medium and Heavy-Duty EV Incentives (HB 2714) · Renewable Energy Siting (HB 3181) · Natural Climate Solutions (SB 530) · Climate Action Modernization (SB 522) · Residential Solar Rebate Program Extension (HB 3418) · Residential Heat Pump Program Extension (HB 3056) · Climate Protection Program Fee Bill (HB 3196) · Harmful Algal Blooms (HB 2647) · Community Renewable Energy Grant Program (HB 2021, 2021) In addition, there are a number of Agency Policy Option Packages (POPs) and new climate-related programs included in the Climate Package. Again, though, the future of this package, like all the others, remains up in the air.”

OLIVIA HAN (she/her) OLIVIA HAN (she/her) Youth Vote Strategist Olivia is a junior at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon. She is part of the International Internship Program for Advocacy through Leadership Initiatives, she is the Youth Voter Strategist for the League of Women Voters Youth Council Oregon, she was a two time international conference qualifier for her school’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), received a Scholastic Arts and Writing silver key award for poetry and photography, is a published poet, has a blog about systemic injustice, wrote a published research paper about art and political discourse, is in the Carnegie Institute youth scholar program, and is Education Co-Lead on the National Student Advisory Council for Work2BeWell (Providence Healthcare). She is excited to see what junior year will bring her and is especially excited to participate in the IB Diploma Program. Outside of her academic pursuits, Olivia is an avid supporter of voter education and awareness, she strives to elevate others and express the importance of voting. She has written numerous speeches, papers, and studies about voter suppression in the United States and hopes to one day create steps towards equality in voting. This is Olivia’s first year participating in LWVOR Youth Council, and she has her eye on making civic participation a smoother experience for everyone. Through leading workshops and registering young voters, she hopes to make her community (and the world) a better place. She is excited to advocate for voters across Oregon as a member of the LWVOR Youth Council and can be contacted at youthoutreach@lwvor.org . youthoutreach@lwvor.org

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Week of 3/10 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR 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 . Jump to a topic: Climate Priorities with League Testimony Natural and Working Lands Other Priorities Energy Issues Transportation Priorities Fracking CE Budget Concerns At this point in the session, we have submitted a number of policy Climate Emergency testimonies For the first time, this year most of our priorities are included in the bipartisan 2025 Legislative Environmental Caucus Priorities , Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Priorities and/or Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) priorities . OCN is the only formal environmental lobby coalition group in the building. Consequently, for some of these bills (especially those in a package) the League may just join coalition sign-on letters rather than providing individual testimony. Climate Priorities with League Testimony HB 2966 -3 Establishes the State Public Financing Task Force, Work Session 3/6/2025 passed to JWM, Representative Gamba, Senator Golden, Frederick, Representative Andersen, Evans , House Commerce and Consumer Protection (H CCP) 
 League Testimony 
 HB 3170 , Community Resilience Hubs and networks: Work Session 3/4, passed to JWM, DHS, Sponsors, Rep. Marsh, Sen Pham and Rep Tan. 
 League testimony The following bills are part of a critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package which was the subject of public hearings February 27 and March 6 in the House Energy Management, General Government, and Veterans Committee : HB 215 1: Testimony ; 2152 : Testimony ; 2949 : T estimony ; 3450 : Testimony , See also CEI Hub Seismic Risk Analysis , HB 3450 CEI energy storage transition plan, HEMGGV, League Comments Energy Affordability and Utility Accountability Package HB 3081 ( League testimony ) creates an active navigator to help access energy efficiency incentives all in one place . SB 88 ( League testimony ) limits the ability of utility companies to charge ratepayers for lobbying, litigation costs, fines, marketing, industry fees, and political spending. In addition to our testimony, LWVOR has signed on to letter support each of these bills. The Public Hearing was March 4th. Natural and Working Lands HB 5039 financial administration of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board; JWM NR SC, PH 2/26, League testimony 
 HB 3103-1 - Overweight Timber Harvest, H ALUNRW, League Oppose Testimony , 3/3 PH. 
 Other Priorities HB 3477 : Update to Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Goals, PH 3/11, League testimony will be posted 3/10. Bringing back SB 1559 (2024) moved to H CEE, Sponsored by Rep GAMBA, Sen Frederick, Golden, Patterson, Pham K, Taylor HB 2566 : Stand-alone Energy resilience Projects – H Governor Tina Kotek
, Public Hearing held 2/11/2024, 2 amendments proposed (H CEE), DOE presentation 
 
 HB 3365 : climate change instruction /curriculum in public schools, Chief Sponsors: Rep Fragala, McDonald , House Education Committee Rep Andersen, Gamba, Lively, Neron, Senator Patterson, Pham, Taylor. House Cm Educ SJR 28 : Environmental Rights Constitutional – Referral, Senate Rules, Amendment Leg Referral - Senator Golden, Representatives Andersen, Gamba, Senators Manning Jr, Prozanski, Representative Tran 
. The League has tentative plans to write testimony (comments) on this bill later this month. 
 
 SB 679 : Climate Liability, (Sen. Golden, Senate Energy and Environment 
 
 SB 680 : Climate Science / Greenwashing, Sen. Golden and Manning, moved to Judiciary, no recommendation, (S J) PH was 2/26 Campos, Frederick, Gorsek, Patterson, Prozanski, Taylor 
 
 SB 681 : Treasury: Fossil Fuel investment moratorium
, Sen Golden, Senate Finance and Revenue 
 
 SB 682 : Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Sen. Golden, Rep. Andersen, Gamba, Sen. Campos, Pham , SEE SB 688 : Public Utility Commission performance-based regulation of electric utilities, PH 3/12, we are planning League testimony, Sen. Golden, Sen. Pham, SEE 
 SB 827 : Solar and Storage Rebate, SEE Work session 2/17, Gov. Kotek & DOE, Senate vote 21-7, moves to House 3/4 

 first reading. HB 3546 , the POWER Act , PR was 3/6, 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. The League has approved being listed on a coalition sign on advocacy letter . Oregon lawmakers introduce legislation to rein in utility bills | KPTV : Citizens Utility Board CUB presentation here . See the discussion below under House CE&E 3/6 Public Hearing Carbon sequestration/storage: See DOGAMI Agency Budget (see Natural Resources Legislative Report) – Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Interactive Map | U.S. Geological Survey ( usgs.gov ) .
 
 Energy Issues House CE&E 3/6 Public Hearing on HB 3546 The committee heard testimony on HB 3546 , which would direct the PUC to create a separate classification of service for large energy user facilities (data centers and potentially crypto mining facilities) that draw >20 MW of electricity. PUC would require utilities to enter a 10-year contract obligating such users to pay a minimum amount or percentage for the term of the contract, which could include an excess demand charge. Rates for this customer class would have to be proportional to the costs of serving them, including for transmission, distribution, and capacity. Utilities would have to mitigate the risks to other customer classes of paying for the utility’s increased load requirements. The bill would apply only to large users that submit an application for service on or after the effective date of the act. Rep. Marsh and Sen. Sollman spoke for the bill, noting that growth in energy demand used to be balanced across all users, but data center growth has upset that. Without intervention, the high costs of growing demand will be borne by residential customers rather than large users. The bill is not asking large users to subsidize other users, nor challenging their tax benefits, but requiring them to pay their fair share of the infrastructure needed to serve them. Ten-year contracts would prevent stranded assets from being shifted to other ratepayers. Data centers have a specific massive impact on the grid that is not true of other large energy users. Small businesses as well as residential users are at risk. Bob Jenks of CUB also testified in support, saying we need a rate class for data centers because they put a unique and significant cost on the system. Over the past 10 years, PGE’s load would have actually shrunk if not for this new large load—unprecedented for a single customer class. AI data centers that are coming will draw more load than the city of Eugene. We already have rate classes based on specific usage – irrigation, street lighting, etc. PGE charges residential customers more than twice as much per kWh as it charges data centers. Assigning rates for the data centers will not be unilateral—they can make their case in specific rate cases before PUC. Rep. Osborne objected that Oregon needs more business, and these large users provide a lot of construction jobs, so we don’t want to overburden them or discourage other businesses from locating here. Marsh pointed to generous tax credits that are available to encourage this form of economic development. Green Energy Institute noted that data center owners are among the largest, richest corporations in the world and should not be subsidized by residential users. Google spokespeople took a neutral stance, saying they can support many elements of the bill but want to work with the committee to "improve" it by bringing other large energy users under its requirements. They said load growth reflects economic opportunities as well as challenges, and recent growth points to the need to reverse our underinvestment in critical infrastructure. In other states, Google has been able to strike agreement with multiple constituencies to come up with a framework that can work elsewhere. Key pillars: (1) Require all new large loads to sign long-term contracts so the new load is committed. (2) Commit the large users to pay minimum infrastructure charges to “de-risk” investments. (3) New large loads need to back up their load requests with "significant collateral"—e.g., multiple years of minimum payments have to be posted as a letter of credit so the utility can pay for these investments if the large user leaves the system. They would like to see a similar model adopted in Oregon. Senate E&E heard testimony 3/5 on Sen. Brock Smith's three nuclear bills SB 215 – Repeals the requirement that there be a licensed repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste before a site certificate for a nuclear-fueled thermal power plant may be issued in Oregon. If the bill is enacted, the repeal would have to be submitted to a referendum of Oregonians at the next regular general election. SB 216 – Repeals the above requirement by legislation alone. SB 635 – Directs OSU to conduct a feasibility study on nuclear energy generation in Oregon—advantages and disadvantages, maximizing jobs for Oregonians, technical issues. The meeting began with invited testimony from ODOE's Max Woods, mainly on nuclear safety and storage methods; an upbeat sales pitch by Kati Augsten, Nuclear Energy Institute, for nuclear plants in general and small nuclear reactors in particular; and a more sober assessment by Chris Hansen, Institute for Western Energy, who despite being a self-proclaimed nuclear enthusiast, poured some cold water on the previous presentation. According to Hansen, we are not seeing cost reductions in the marketplace for nuclear as we've seen for renewables. Unless we can lower the cost by more than a third, "nuclear power will have only a marginal role in the U.S. energy portfolio going forward." Clean options such as geothermal and hydro provide stiff competition for new nuclear units in the West. Grid enhancing technologies and grid expansions are likely to be more cost-effective in the near- to mid-term. Brock Smith and Rep. Diehl spoke for the bills, saying Oregonians need to have another vote on this (SB 215) as a lot has changed in the past 45 years. According to them, without nuclear, we won't have the baseload capacity to achieve all the electrification we need in order to decarbonize. Brock Smith said amendments are coming, some conforming and others to authorize our agencies to start looking at regulatory changes. Sen. Frederick spoke in opposition, saying he is skeptical of glorifying and overhyping nuclear power, as we were told 50 years ago that the waste issue would be solved by now. He noted that the outlook from Washington (DC) is unsettling, as the Project 2025 team has decided we can live with a larger amount of radiation, and they have fired some federal employees with nuclear expertise. Testimony followed from Sierra Club, Columbia Riverkeeper and some pro-nuclear advocates with predictable claims and counterclaims. Chair Sollman carried over the hearings until next Monday 3/10 so more people can testify House CE&E reported out the following bills with do-pass recommendations CE&E reported out the following bills with do-pass recendations: HB 2567-1 would adjust the rules and reporting requirements of the Heat Pump Deployment Program . ODOE could establish an allowable percentage by rule for administrative expenses and marketing costs for eligible entities, removing the existing statutory cap of 15%. The -1 amendment would allow ODOE to provide an additional incentive of up to $1,000 for contractors to install residential heat pumps in rural and frontier communities. The bill would replace the phrase “environmental justice community” with the phrase “disadvantaged community” throughout the statute, defined as “a community that has a socioeconomic burden and an environmental, climate or other burden.” It would extend the program’s sunset date from 2026 to 2032. The bill has minimal fiscal impact as it provides no additional funding for the program. Moved as amended to the House floor, rescinding subsequent referral to Joint W&M. HB 3170 would modify the grant requirements for Resilience Hubs and Resilience Networks and appropriate an additional $10.2M from the General Fund and $227K from federal funds to DHS for the grant program in 2025-27. It would clarify that the purpose of the grants is to pay for equipment, technical assistance, contracted services, and any other type of support needed to create or sustain a Resilience Hub or Network. DHS received more than 700 applications with $176M in grant requests during the first award cycle, and expects similar interest in the coming biennium. Referred to Joint W&M by prior reference. The committee also heard testimony on HB 3081 (One-Stop Shop 2.0), which would require ODOE to create a statewide clearinghouse for household energy efficiency incentive programs. It would create an active navigator to provide Oregonians with easier access to the hundreds of different incentives and cash rebates available for upgrades like heat pumps, weatherization, and sturdier doors and windows. HB 3081 would build on the One Stop Shop 1.0 search tool by offering live phone support to help Oregonians navigate their options and connect with trusted contractors. It would also require the information and assistance to be provided in the five most prevalent non-English languages spoken in Oregon. Oral testimony in support came from Climate Solutions, OLCV, Earth Advantage, Home Performance Guild of Oregon, and others. OMEU and ORECA posted written testimony in opposition, noting that consumer-owned utilities and coops already provide expert advice to their customers on BPA-funded and utility-specific rebates, and already invest heavily in developing their own rebate websites and marketing strategies, making HB 3081 a duplicative effort. Senate E&E 3/3 and 3/6 Hearings on SB88 Senate E&E heard testimony on SB 88 on 3/3 and 3/6. The bill would prohibit an electric or gas company from recovering from ratepayers’ expenses associated with advertising, political influence activity, litigation, penalties or fines and certain compensation. PUC would have to limit by rule the amount that a utility could recover from ratepayers to defend such expenses in a contested rate case. Each utility would have to file an annual report with PUC identifying such expenses. PUC would have to establish a fine for noncompliance and could order a utility to refund any amounts recovered for violating the act. Chair Sollman opened by saying this bill won’t save ratepayers a lot of money – it’s first and foremost about transparency – what business expenses should be considered the responsibility of utility customers. CUB, Climate Solutions, Rogue Climate, OSSIA and other organizations testified in support, as did LWVOR in written testimony . They said utilities have the upper hand in rate proceedings and SB 88 is a step toward balancing the scales. Customers should pay for infrastructure improvements and investments in reliability, but not for the utilities’ public image building, lobbying, executive bonuses, etc. Utilities shouldn’t be allowed to "throw items at the wall to see if they’ll stick." The bill would authorize penalties, beyond standard disallowances, for utilities who try to get away with that. Other states have adopted similar legislation. Cascade Natural Gas, NW Natural, and NW Gas Association opposed the bill, saying utilities already have to justify all their costs before the PUC and they ultimately have the burden of proof. NW Natural denied that it seeks to recover expenses for lobbying, public relations, etc. The current PUC process is transparent and fair. Reporting requirements in the bill are onerous and could wind up costing customers more. Legislative Council has suggested that the bill could violate the 1st, 5th, and 14th amendments with regard to free speech and equal protection. PGE and PacifiCorp offered no testimony. Following the hearing, PUC furnished a helpful table showing their interpretation of what SB 88 would change with regard to recoverable utility expenses. Transportation Priorities Transportation package that prioritizes climate, equity, and wildlife According to OCN Press Rel ease, “This package would build on the historic gains of HB 2017 (which included investments in public transit, safe routes to School, and vehicle electrification), to shift the focus to multimodal, safety, and climate-forward investments. This promises to create a system that saves money over time and builds a more resilient, equitable, and healthy future for all Oregonians.” Fracking The League continues to be concerned about Fracking issues. The fracking moratorium in Oregon, expired on January 2, 2025. [ 1 , 2 ] Here's a more detailed explanation: [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] Moratorium End Date: The temporary ban on fracking for oil and gas production and exploration in Oregon, established by House Bill 2623, was set to end on January 2, 2025. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] Governor's Signature: Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed the legislation on June 17, 2019. [ 1 ] Legislative Action: The Oregon Senate passed the bill on May 29, 2019, with a 17-11 vote. [ 3 , 4 ] Exemptions: The bill included exemptions for natural gas storage wells, geothermal activities, and existing coalbed methane extraction wells. [ 3 ] Current Status: The moratorium has expired, and fracking is no longer prohibited in Oregon. [ 1 , 2 ] [1] https://aglaw.psu.edu/shale-law-in-the-spotlight/oregon-and-washington-enact-hydraulic-fracturing-bans/ [2] https://climate-xchange.org/2024/08/policy-explainer-drilling-down-on-state-efforts-to-ban-fracking/ [3] https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/senatedemocrats/Documents/HB2623Fracking.pdf [4] https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2019/05/29/oregon-senate-passes-5-year-fracking-moratorium/1271400001/ CE Budget Concerns In order to stay on track, the Legislature must prioritize investments for vital climate and community protection programs. Without additional appropriations this session, the following existing successful programs may run out of funding: Community Renewable Energy Grant Program (ODOE) Rental Home Heat Pump Program (ODOE) Community Heat Pump Program (ODOE) Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program/Charge Ahead (DEQ) Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Rebates + Infrastructure Grants (DEQ) Community Resilience Hubs and Networks (ODHS) Climate Change Worker Relief Fund (DAS) Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program (ODOE) Natural & Working Lands Fund (OWEB) (excerpt from OCEN network message) Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Governance , Natural Resources , and Social Policy report sections.

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Week of 2/19 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: vacant Energy Policy: Claudia Keith Environmental Justice: vacant Natural Climate Solution Forestry: Josie Koehne Agriculture: vacant Community Resilience & Emergency Management: see Governance LR: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: see NR LR Joint Ways and Means - Budgets, Lawsuits, Green/Public Banking, Divestment/ESG: Claudia Keith Find additional Climate Change Advocacy volunteers in Natural Resources Jump to a topic: Climate Emergency Highlights House and Senate Climate Notes House Committee for Energy & Environment Climate Emergency News Climate Litigation and Congressional Climate Resolution Volunteers Needed Climate Emergency Highlights LWVOR is disappointed that SB 1559 is not advancing this session. It was designed to increase the target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions - setting a goal of 95% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. See OPB: DEAD: Stronger greenhouse gas reduction goals Budget Omnibus Bill - The following issues are currently being considered by the Joint Ways and Means Committee (J W&Ms) : Healthy Homes, EV Rebate, Climate-Friendly Micro-mobility transport, and Environmental Justice-related Worker Relief funding Programs, all totaling $59 million. There is currently $7.5M in SB1530 for Healthy Homes. Funding for Environmental Justice refers to Oregon Worker Relief Funding $9M, related to lost wages when there are extensive heat and or air quality/smoke issues for agriculture outdoor workers. See also the Natural Resources and Social Policy sections in this Legislative Report. Other Climate Emergency Bills League testimony posted, or we are following and may have testimony: Off-Shore Wind: HB 4080 , League Testimony, See discussion in NR Leg Report. Clean Tech Leadership Bill HB 4112 Referred to J W&Ms. League Testimony . Funding is $20M. Right to Repair: SB 1596 See discussion in NR Leg Report, League Testimony HB 4155 Infrastructure funding study - Rep Gamba and Sen Golden – in J W&Ms. Fiscal $250K. League Testimony is being considered. HB 4083 Coal Act: Requires Oregon Investment Council and Treasury to divest from Thermal Coal investments. In Senate E&E with a 2/27 work session posted . We expect this bill to be voted in chamber, League Testimony . HB 4102 Funding mechanism for Natural and Working Lands Fund (carbon sequestration). Almost unanimous Affirmative House vote, now in the Sen NRW. Zero Fiscal. Natural Climate Solutions At the request of the Oregon Climate Action Committee , OCAC (formerly the Global Warming commission), SB1525 in HCEE, PH 2/26, work session 2/28. supports Oregon’s transition to clean energy. However, several of the dates in the 2023 legislations could not be met due to delayed funding and grant issues. The $10 million fund to carry out work promoting carbon sequestration on Oregon’s natural and working lands (OWEB, ODA, ODFW, ODF) needed to be moved out by a year. The OCAC overseeing implementation of the Natural and Working Lands bill felt more time was needed to complete three studies on Carbon Sequestration and Storage Inventory, Natural Climate Solutions Workforce, and its Carbon Sequestration Goal. House and Senate Climate Notes By Claudia Keith The House passed HB 4090 by a vote of 39-19. The bill would prohibit the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) from exercising jurisdiction over or requiring a site certificate for an energy facility that is a renewable energy facility or transmission line, which is sited wholly within federal lands and is subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Several Reps opposed the carve-out allowing the EFSC to retain jurisdiction over nuclear power plants, saying we can’t achieve our “green” energy goals without nuclear power. Bill Chief Sponsor Rep. Gamba responded that the carve-out does not take nuclear off the table, but says the EFSC (which was created to address concerns about nuclear energy siting) must still be involved in the approval of such a project. The Senate passed SB 1596 A (Right to Repair) by a margin of 25-5 (Bonham, Hayden, Knopp, Linthicum, Robinson), League testimony . The House Business and Labor public hearing is 2/26. House Committee for Energy & Environment By Claudia Keith The committee voted 7-3 to move HB 4112-4 to the House floor with prior reference to Joint W&M. The bill directs DAS to adopt rules to govern procurements from CE technology manufacturing companies that DAS conducts on behalf of state agencies; creates the Oregon Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing Opportunity Fund, from which OBDD is to develop a program to award grants and make low-interest loans to attract and support CE tech manufacturing companies and foster job creation; and directs the Governor to establish a 15-member Clean Energy Technology Leadership Advisory Council. Fiscal note calls for $20 million GF in 2023-25 to OBDD for deposit into the new Opportunity Fund plus two new full-time analysts; $107K Other Funds in 2023-25 to DAS for a permanent part-time analyst and expenses; and $179K to DAS in 2025-27. During discussion, Rep. Owens said he would vote yes because CE technology can be an economic driver, but he is concerned about preferences for employers that agree to provide benefits for disadvantaged workers and businesses and to enter into community benefit agreements (project labor agreements or PLAs). He hopes in the future we can have more discussion about how this sort of program affects rural communities. Rep. Osborne objected to PLAs in principle saying they counteract good practice. Oregon DOT: Climate Reduction Program Department of Environmental Quality: Action on Climate Change Home: Action on Climate Change : State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality: Climate Protection Program: (CPP) State of Oregon. January Press Release . The League is considering joining a CPP coalition 2/27 sign on letter. Add hyperlink. Climate Emergency News Short-Term Energy Outlook - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) With limited resources, a small Oregon town plans for climate change – Oregon Capital Chronicle One of Oregon’s smallest utilities is suddenly among the state’s biggest polluters. Why? Amazon data centers - oregonlive.com Chicago sues oil companies for impacts of climate change| Scientific America,(Chicago has joined several other cities and states in suing oil companies. The effort seeks to hold fossil fuel producers financially accountable for the effects of climate change) How Kids Are Fighting Climate Change, One Lawsuit at a Time | Aspen Ideas Exclusive: US regulator drops some emissions disclosure requirements from draft climate rules | Reuters How Lawyers Hinder Climate-Related Risk Disclosure | The Regulatory Review Climate Litigation and Congressional Climate Resolution February 2024 Updates to the Climate Case Charts | Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Oregon Cases – 73 as of Feb 2024 Congressional Children’s Fundamental Rights and Climate Recovery Resolution: LWVUS’ Lobby Corps is currently having targeted Hill meetings on the Children’s Fundamental Rights and Climate Recovery Resolution to continue bipartisan conversations about the climate crisis and resolution and maintain League visibility on this vital issue federally. LWVUS re-endorsed the resolution upon its reintroduction, and maintains a related Action Alert on the website so that folks can contact their Members of Congress Climate Emergency Team and Volunteers Needed Please consider joining the Climate Emergency portfolio team; we lack volunteers in these critical policy areas: • Natural Climate Solutions, specifically Oregon Dept of Agriculture (ODA) • Climate Related Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust • Public Health Climate Adaptation (OHA) • Regional Solutions / Infrastructure (with NR team • State Procurement Practices (DAS: Dept. of Admin. Services • CE Portfolio State Agency and Commission Budgets • Climate Migration • Oregon Treasury: ESG investing/Fossil Fuel divestment We collaborate with LWVOR Natural Resource Action Committee members on many Climate Change mitigation and adaptation policy topics. Volunteers are needed: Training for Legislative and State Agency advocacy processes is available.