This page is for all legislation related to
Climate, Energy, and the Environment (CEE)

ANNOUNCING THE 2025 JOINT WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE TRAVELING ROADSHOW


Gresham March 22

Astoria March 28


Warm Springs

April 4 (Fri) | 5pm-7pm

Old Warm Springs Elementary School, 1112 Wasco St.

LaGrande

April 11 (Fri) | 5pm-7pm

Eastern Oregon University

Hoke Union Building #339, 1 University Blvd.

Salem 

April 16 (Wed) | 5pm-7pm

(remote testimony prioritized)

Klamath Falls

April 25 (Fri) | 5pm-7pm

Klamath Community College

Building 4 Commons

7390 South 6th St.

Many important bills need funding. There is never enough money to fund them all as the Joint Ways and Means Committee must submit a balance 2-year budget. Plan to testify at the hearing closest to you to support funding for issues important to you.

Page last updated: 12:00 PM Saturday March 29

Using  this page: HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

It takes only a few minutes to write a short letter or note to support or to oppose a bill. 

Here is a 'how to': 

1. Scroll down (or jump to a topic) to find a bill you're interested in that has an ACTION ALERT. 

2. Use the various links provided to learn more about the bill. 

3. Click on the Bill Number to open up the official bill summary. 

4. Click “Submit Testimony” on menu bar near the top.

5. Fill in your name, email, and city.

6. At “Position on Measure,” select SUPPORT or OPPOSE or NEUTRAL

7. At “Submit text or upload a PDF,” select “Text Testimony.”

8. Paste your testimony text into the box below “Submit text testimony below.”

9. Click “Submit Testimony.”

Thanks to Kevin Walsh for this step-by-step guide to submitting testimony.

We hope to have a video demonstrating this process available soon.

Topic: Climate, Pollution, General Environment

SJR 28 - The Right to a Healthy Environment    COIN ENDORSES this bill.

Senate Joint Resolution 28 is the product of the Oregon Coalition for an Environmental Rights Amendment (OCERA), a grassroots effort to amend the Oregon constitution to affirm that all Oregonians have a fundamental, enforceable right to  a healthy environment.  COIN is a founding member of OCERA, and members of COIN’s Climate, Energy and Environment Team have been active members from the beginning, so we will most likely be endorsing this bill as we go through our endorsement process. Over 30 grassroots organizations and hundreds of individuals are also active coalition members. The chief sponsors of SJR 28 are Senators Golden, Manning, and Prozanski, and Representatives Gamba, Anderson, and Tran. In addition, 7 Senators and 8 Representatives have joined as co-sponsors.  Here's a more thorough explanation of the resolution and why we need it. You can also learn more bout this effort on OCERA's website. 

SJR 28 has been assigned to the Rules Committee.

This bill had a hearing on 3/26. View the session here.  

The OCERA Coalition (which COIN is proud to be a part of) had a lobby day in conjunction with the hearing on 3/26. So many supporters showed up that we filled a second hearing room, and everyone was restricted to just ONE MINUTE for their testimony!  We NEEDED a big crowd that day and you showed up!

SB 1187 / SB 682 - Oregon Climate Superfund Act or Make Polluters Pay Act -   COIN ENDORSES this bill.

UPDATE!  SB 1187 has replaced SB 682 as the Climate Super Fund / Make Polluters Pay Act. It was assigned a hearing and work session by the deadline (March 21) while SB 682 was not (so it's apparently dead).  It appears that SB 1187 changes the responsibility for assessing cost of GHG emissions from the State Treasurer to the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). The DEQ would be charged with issuing cost recovery demand notices. 

The Oregon Climate Superfund Act, also known as the Make Polluters Pay Act will hold fossil fuel companies responsible for some of the immense costs of pollution from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions they are responsible for. These companies will be required to use a portion of the their staggering profits to pay for repair and mitigation of damages caused by GHG emissions and to support appropriate climate resilience efforts. State agencies will create resilience plans addressing specific impacts on Oregon’s natural and human-built infrastructure. Payments into the fund will be assessed in proportion to a company’s share of GHG emissions over a historical period. 


The bill is modeled after legislation already adopted in Vermont and New York. Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and California are in the process of developing similar legislation, and more states are expected to follow suit.


COIN is a member of the Make Polluters Pay Coalition that is responsible for educating and advocating for the passage of this bill. 

HB 1187 is currently in the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment. 

ACTION ALERT! HB 1187 has been scheduled for a public hearing on Monday April 7 at 3:00 PM. You can register to testify or submit written testimony here and watch the public hearing here. The bill has also been scheduled for a possible work session and committee vote on Wednesday April 9 at 3:00 PM. You can watch the work session here. 

HB 3362  4% Tire Tax COIN ENDORSES this bill.

HB 3362 would impose a 4% excise tax on new tire sales. 75% of the tax funds would go to the Tire Pollution and Rail Transit Fund established under this bill and 25% would go to the Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Fund also  established under this bill. The Tire Pollution and Rail Transit Fund is charged with mitigating pollution from tires and funding rail transit. The Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Fund would fund wildlife crossing and projects that reduce collisions between wildlife and vehicles. 

Tire dust is a major component of hard surface runoff and is a source of toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and microplastics. 6PPD-quinone in tire dust has proven to be deadly to coho salmon as they return to spawn. One of the goals of the fund created by this bill will target reduction of this pollution.


HB 3362 Worksheet


Currently in the Joint Committee on Transportation

This bill had a public hearing on Mar 3. You can watch it here. 

HB 2961 - Increases current requirements for EV charging capability for new buildings.    COIN ENDORSES this bill.

The current law (since 2021) requires that 30% of parking spaces in certain newly constructed buildings (specifically, commercial buildings, multi-family buildings with 5 or more units and mixed-use buildings consisting of commercial space and 5 or more dwelling units) be EV-ready with conduit and panel, and adequate electric service to power 20% of spaces. 


This bill increases the requirement to either a) 50% of parking spaces with EV-ready service OR  b) maintaining the current 20% AND including a charger in 5% of those spaces (but no less than 1 space). (Currently, no chargers are required for the EV-ready spaces). Put simply, either more EV-ready spaces are required during construction, or chargers are required at 5% of the currently required spaces.  


The point is to encourage the transition to EV use for people who live in apartments and mixed-use buildings, who don’t have other means of providing their own charging stations. 


Here is the  COIN Worksheet.


HB 2961 is in the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. Two public hearings have been held on this bill. Watch the Jan 30 hearing at 29:27 minutes. Read testimony submitted. Watch the Feb 4 hearing here.


ACTION ALERT!  A work session scheduled for Tuesday April 8 at 8:00 AM. Write to committee members and urge them to pass HB 2961 with the -4 amendment.  The committee will be considering a -2 and a -4 amendment. The -2 amendment, proposed by Republican Rep. Osborne, would prohibit this bill from going into effect until tens of thousands of new housing units have been built and homelessness has decreased by 80%, both unrealistic in the immediate future, though this is probably the point. The -4 amendment, proposed by Democrat Rep. Gamba is a bit more realistic, removing the requirement that 50% of parking spaces in new housing be EV-ready service.  You can watch the 3/27 work session here. 

SB 551 A - "Beyond the Bag" bill       COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

This bill would further reduce the use of plastic bags and other disposable plastic items provided by grocers, restaurants and other food retailers, and hotels and other lodging businesses. It expands on the restrictions of Oregon’s 2019 law limiting use of single use plastic bags. SB551 would also bar food service places from offering plastic cutlery or condiments in plastic packaging generally unless they are requested.  SB551 would prohibit hotels and other lodging places from automatically providing toiletries like shampoo or lotion in disposable plastic containers. That regulation would kick in for establishments with 50 or more rooms beginning in 2027. It would apply to all forms of lodging — including short-term rentals — beginning in 2028. 

MOVEMENT ALERT!  SB 551-3 PASSED THE SENATE ON MAR 11 BY A VOTE OF 22-8!  You can watch the actual Senate session here, plus Feb 12 public hearing here and the Feb 26 work session here where the current -3 amendment to clarify SB 551 was proposed.  

SB 551 A is now assigned to the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. 

SB 992 - Modernization of the Bottle Bill    COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

This bill initially was simply a "study bill," requiring the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to study the modernization of Oregon’s legendary "Bottle Bill" and submit recommendations by September, 2026.  However, It had a hearing and a -1 amendment  was added, which authorizes alternative collection sites, allowing for non-profits to set up collection sites, but only in cities of 500,000 or more. (We'd prefer for that limitation to be removed!) Right now the only redemption centers are those set up by the bottler's association and they often make it really difficult to return bottles. This should help consumers get their deposits back and help keep litter off the streets.  

Currently in the Senate Energy and Environment Committee

A public hearing for SB 992 was held Monday Feb 17. Watch the session here. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a possible work session and possible committee vote on Wednesday April 2 at 3:00 PM. You can watch the session here. 

HB 3170 - Community Resilience Hubs    COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

Provides additional funding for Community Resilience Hubs. During the 2023 Legislation COIN endorsed and lobbied for HB 2990 - Community Resilience Hubs. It ended up being folded into the omnibus HB 3409 Climate Package at the end of the session which passed.  But it was not funded sufficiently at the time. The current bill, HB3170, adds additional funding to provide grants for communities to develop resilience hubs. 

A public hearing was held on Feb 4. View the recording here. The testimony was overwhelmingly in support of this bill. 

MOVEMENT ALERT: A work session was held on Mar 4 and the committee gave it a DO PASS recommendation by a vote of 7-0 with 5 members absent. Watch the session here.  The bill now moves to Joint Ways and Means Committee. 

ACTION ALERT: You can contact members of the Committee and urge them to fund this important legislation. Or, if you attend one of the Ways and Means Road Show events (see dates and locations at the top of the page), tell them we need to pass this bill.  

HB 2062 - Battery Producer Responsibility Program     COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill prohibits producers of batteries or battery-containing products from selling, offering for sale, or distributing batteries or battery-containing products in Oregon unless they participate in a battery producer responsibility organization (PRO) that successfully implements a battery producer responsibility program.

At least three states and the US Capital—California, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington, DC—have battery EPR programs in place to collect certain types of batteries, ranging in size, type (rechargeable or not), and chemical makeup (for example, alkaline, carbon-zinc, lithium metal, or lithium-ion). Once the batteries are collected by producers, they are sent to recycling facilities; currently, there are only four recyclers in the U.S. that can recycle batteries.

Currently in the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. 

A public hearing for HB 2062 was held Tuesday Feb 18. Watch the session here. Read the testimony here. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Thursday April 3 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here. 

SB 726 - Surface Emissions Monitoring at Landfills   COIN ENDORSES this bill.

In Oregon, landfill operators are required to conduct surface emissions monitoring across the landfill every quarter and submit these reports to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. However, analysis shows that 33% of landfill surface area is excluded from any monitoring! SB 726 will fix this, by requiring landfill operators to deploy commercially available drones and advanced monitoring technologies to detect methane plumes across landfills. Drones and flyover monitoring using planes or satellites would allow larger areas of the landfill to be easily monitored for leaks. This bill would also improve transparency by requiring reports to be shared in spatial data formats, a very common way to display data digitally.  

Currently in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment.

This bill had a public hearing on Feb 24. You can watch the recording here and read testimony submitted by COIN member Dan Meek.


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been rescheduled for a possible work session and committee vote on Wednesday Apr 2 at 3:00 PM. You can watch the session here. 

SB 680 -  Prohibits Publishing False Environmental Marketing Claims.   COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill would prohibit a person from publishing or causing to be published an environmental marketing claim, net zero claim or reputational advertising that is materially false, misleading, deceptive or fraudulent. It punishes a violation of the Act as an unlawful trade practice under the Unlawful Trade Practices Act and subjects the violator to statutory damages of $200 if a plaintiff can prove exposure to the claim or advertising and that the plaintiff purchased a product or service from the person based on the claim or advertising. We like this bill except for the low limit on liability to $200. No one is going to bring a lawsuit if the damages are capped at $200, so we recommend an amendment for a higher limit on damages. 

Portland Mercury 3.7.25 article Prohibiting Greenwashing

Currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee

This bill had a public hearing on Feb 26. You can watch the recording here. Check out testimony by COIN members Alan Journet and Dan Meek. 

HB 3365  Climate Change / Sustainability Education  COIN endorses this bill.

Directs the State Board of Education to include an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability and climate change across all subjects for which academic content standards are established. In other words, the idea of climate change can be used to teach lessons in math or social studies, not just science. We believe this is important, so that tomorrow's adults understand the reality of climate change. Perhaps if the topic is less politicized and better understood by the next generation, they will be more successful in living more sustainably than the current generation has been.  

Currently in the House Education Committee

This bill had a public hearing on Mar 12. You can watch the recording here. Here's the COIN testimony in support of this bill and here's additional testimony from COIN member Alan Journet.  


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Monday April 7 at 3:00 PM. You can watch the session here. 

SB 78 - Limits Scale of Replacement Homes on Farmland  COIN endorses this bill.

Calls for replacement dwelling reform on forest and farmland. Replacement dwellings can’t exceed floor area of original dwelling by more than 10% or floor area greater than 2500 sq. ft.  Limits the scale of replacement dwellings to reduce speculative impacts on agricultural and forestland and limit the current unchecked conversion of our limited resource land for luxury homesite development.  

Currently in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire

This bill had a public hearing on Mar 6. You can watch the recording here.


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a possible work session and committee vote on Tuesday April 8 at 1:00 PM. You can watch the session here. 

HB 2067  Rebate for Battery-Powered Leaf Blowers 
COIN is neutral on this bill but has some recommendations to make it worthy of endorsement:

This bill requires the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) to establish a program for providing rebates to commercial contractors, landscape construction professionals, and landscape contracting businesses for the purchase of battery-powered leaf blowers, operative on January 1, 2026. The rebate amounts would be equal to 50 percent of the price paid for a battery-powered leaf blower and any new batteries or new battery chargers necessary for the person to use the battery-powered leaf blower for ordinary business reasons.

We are all for battery-powered leaf blowers.... and battery-powered chain saws and weed whackers and lawn mowers, too! This bill looks like a hastily-conceived subsidy for commercial landscapers. If we want to get rid of gas-powered lawn tools, the state should just ban them by a certain date. Or... offer the same rebate to anyone who buys electric landscaping equipment. 

A public hearing was held on 3/18. You can view the recorded hearing here. 

ACTION ALERT! This bill is scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Thursday April 3 at 8:00 AM. Write to members of the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment and urge them to consider our recommendations and then vote YES. You can watch the work session here. 

HB 3119 - Delays the Advanced Clean Trucks Act COIN OPPOSES this bill.  

Prohibits the Department of Environmental Quality from implementing or enforcing the Advanced Clean Trucks regulations before January 1, 2027. This bill is assigned to the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. This bill to delay the ACT is setting the stage to kill the ACT program. The effort is part of a multistate coordinated effort to roll back clean air protections in a moment we cannot rely on a federal backstop. 

A public hearing for HB3119 was held Jan 30. Watch the hearing here.


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 8 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here.

SB 360 - Exemption for Pesticide Application   COIN OPPOSES this bill.  

This bill would create a pesticide licensing exemption for certain employees using a battery-powered device to apply pesticides.  We oppose this bill because it shouldn't matter what method, mechanism, or type of energy is used to disperse regulated pesticides.  The person handling the pesticides should still be required to follow all relevant rules to prevent pesticide pollution. This bill would just create a loophole for getting around pesticide application rules. 

A public hearing was held for this bill on 3/17. You can view the hearing here. 


MOVEMENT ALERT 😡 This bill had a work session on Wednesday March 26 at 3:00 PM.  The Senate Committee On Energy and Environment voted 4-1 to move this bill forward.  You can watch the work session here.  We expect this bill to move next to the Senate Floor for a vote. You can contact your senator and urge him/her to vote against this bill. 

SB 1129 - Amends Laws Relating to Urban Reserves   COIN OPPOSES this bill. 

This bill would allow developers to buy up farm and forest land and convert it to urban reserves. We agree agree with Former Circuit Court Judge Paul Lipscomb who testified: "SB 1129 is a dangerous bill...Currently, local governments already have adequate discretion to decide which available lands are best suited for urban reserves which could later be incorporated into their urban growth boundaries. Cities and counties are already authorized to identify exclusive farm use zoned properties for expansion into their urban growth boundaries if their existing urban properties are truly no longer able to accommodate future growth. But that power exists only when it is actually necessary, not just when it might be convenient or popular."   The bill creates a huge loophole that would short-circuit Oregon’s successful land use planning process and negatively impact Oregon’s farm and forestland. The bill is currently in the Senate Committee On Housing and Development. 

This bill had a public hearing on 3/24. You can watch the recorded hearing here. 

ACTION ALERT! The work session for this bill has been rescheduled for Monday April 7 at 1:00 PM. The link for watching the work session hasn't been scheduled yet, but we'll post it as soon as we see it on OLIS. You can write to Committee Members and urge them to vote against this bill. 

HB 2738 - Prohibits Leaded Fuel at Race Tracks   
COIN ENDORSESD this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

This bill prohibits the use of leaded fuel at race tracks in cities with a population of 500,000 or greater as of January 1, 2026.  That means Portland Int'l Raceway.  Many residents of the Kenton neighborhood have testified in favor of this.  Note that NASCAR banned leaded fuel in 2007. If the iconic racetrack, Daytona Beach can operate with unleaded fuel, so can Portland.

Currently in the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. 

A public hearing for HB 2738 was held Tuesday Feb 18. Watch the session here. Read the testimony here. 

HB 3477  Improves Oregon's GHG Emissions Goals   
COIN ENDORSESD this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

This bill modifies Oregon's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals (calling for more reduction). However, nothing in this bill creates any additional regulatory authority.  So it changes the goals without providing the means to achieve the goals. Despite the wonderful goals, Oregon is not reducing greenhouse gases.  However, we support this bill as a start, and we encourage the legislature to include some mechanism to ensure we achieve these goals. 

The bill is currently in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment.

HB 3477 had a public hearing on Mar 11. You can watch it here. Read COIN's testimony in support of this bill, plus testimony from COIN member Alan Journet. 

SB 77 - Prohibits Elite Development on Farmland 
COIN ENDORSESD this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

Describes allowable home occupation on lands zoned for forest or farm use. Clarifies the definition of “home occupation” as being owner occupied and describes work that may be done and limits number of employees. 

Currently in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire

 
 This bill had a public hearing on Mar 6. You can watch the recording here.

Topic: Water Resources

SB 80 - Prohibition on large new or expanding factory farms in Oregon Groundwater Management Area.  COIN ENDORSES this bill.

Large factory farms or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are linked to dangerous levels of nitrate in groundwater and surface waters in areas where they are located; large factory farms are also linked to devastating public health impacts such as cancers, blue baby, and respiratory illnesses. They undermine local economies, in particular small sustainable family farms and subject millions of animals to abject cruelty.  

Oregon's 11 mega dairies alone produced 4 billion pounds of waste in 2022,  ⅔ of what Oregon’s human population produced. The manure lagoons where waste is stored seeps into the groundwater and is basically dumped or applied on nearby fields as “fertilizer”, causing runoff into surface water like streams, rivers, lakes. This means nitrates and phosphorus in the groundwater and surface water; it fuels algae blooms which kill fish and cause dead zones. ON top of that, factory farms’ air emissions are not regulated, meaning methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, nitrous oxide, and harmful particulate matter, GHG, are emitted into the air unchecked.

Voluntary measures to control factory farm growth in groundwater management areas have not worked. Now there is a growing public health, economic, and environmental crisis in communities in GWMAs. It is an environmental justice issue.  COIN is a supporting member of Stand Up to Factory Farms SUFF; find more info here. 

SB 80 is currently in the Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire. Urge the Committee to pass SB 80. Also, find and write your own legislators in support of SB 80 or better yet, make an appointment to meet with them to discuss their vote on SB 80. 

COIN members attended the Lobby Day Thursday Feb 27 in Salem!  About 30 volunteers in all joined the event and talked with nearly all legislators or their staff about SB 80. 

ACTION ALERT! SB 80 is set for a public hearing and possible work session on Thursday April 3 at 1:00 pm before the Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire. Mark your calendars if you would like to attend in person or virtually and you can also submit written testimony now. It would be great to have a lot of people turn out in support of SB 80! Register to testify or submit testimony here. See the info above for talking points. 

Read COIN Testimony in Support of SB 80.

TWO GOOD WATER RIGHTS TRANSFER BILLS and a BAD BILL. 

SB 427 - Protection of Stream Flows    COIN has ENDORSED this bill.

Oregon water law has a flaw that allows for the transfer of water rights without consideration as to what harm that transfer would have on stream flows and water quality. Many of our water laws were crafted in a time where there was little regard for environmental consequences. SB 427 is a very modest attempt to correct one loophole in those laws. It would help safeguard our streams when water transfers were considered and not allow any further degradation of our streams. 


Drought risk in our state, especially Eastern Oregon, is causing water shortage and lower stream flows. This is expected to continue. This legislation will insure we don’t add to those problems unnecessarily. We need to do all we can to protect the stream flows we have.

Currently in the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire.


A public hearing was held on Feb 25. Watch the hearing here.


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a possible work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 8 at 1:00 PM. You can watch the session here. If your senator is on the Committee, send an email encouraging them to vote YES on this bill.


SB 1153  Water Rights Transfers Must Consider Effect on Listed Species and Water Quality     COIN has ENDORSED this bill.

Directs the Water Resources Department to consider whether certain water right transfers will result in a loss of in-stream habitat for sensitive, threatened or endangered aquatic species in stream reaches not protected by an existing water right or contribute to water quality impairment in water quality limited streams. 

Currently in the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire.

This bill had a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday March 25.  You can watch the hearing here. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a possible work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 8 at 1:00 PM. You can watch the session here. If your senator is on the Committee, send an email encouraging them to vote YES on this bill.


HB 3501 - Water Rights Transfers without Environmental Protections   COIN OPPOSES this bill. 

This bill would prohibit the consideration of whether the proposed change will impair or be detrimental to the public in the evaluation of the following water right changes and transfer applications. It also makes the following changes to the application process for change of use, place of use, or point of diversion:

We think this bill is designed to protect the needs of irrigators over all other potential needs for water. Under current drought conditions, this just isn't reasonable or  sustainable.  The bill is currently in the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water.  Note that COIN is endorsing two bills related to water rights, SB 427 and SB 1153, both described above. 

HB 3501 had a public hearing on Mar 10. You can watch the hearing here. Read COIN's testimony in opposition plus individual testimony from COIN members Cheryl Conway, Debi Ferrer, Stacey Holeman, and Craig Lacey.


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Monday April 7 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here. If your senator is on the Committee, send an email encouraging them to vote NO on this bill.

HB 3114 - Chewaucan River Watershed Management    COIN ENDORSES this bill.

HB 3114 is focused on providing support for a collaborative process designed to improve management of water to benefit the Lake Abert ecosystem What You'll Find at Lake Abert - Oregon Natural Desert Association. The bill provides funding for and instructs Portland State University and Oregon State University to continue facilitating a process( Partnership for Lake Abert and the Chewaucan (PLACe) – Oregon Consensus) for all parties to deliberate on water management in the Chewaucan River watershed, including Lake Abert. It also directs the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Water Resources Department to undertake activities to support the collaborative conversation underway, and to understand the status of the watershed’s natural resources by requiring the 2 departments to collect and analyze data and information relative to this watershed. 

The issue is important to biodiversity conservationists, birders, Saline Lake advocates, and citizens who generally support functional ecosystems for the health of the planet. This local stalemate has become a national issue for conservationists, so Oregon conservationists began holding the Governor’s Office feet to the fire. 

This bill started in the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water.

HB 3114 had a public hearing Wednesday, Mar. 19 at 8:00AM.  View the session here.


MOVEMENT ALERT! At the Mar 26 work session, the committee voted 9-0 to pass HB 3114 with the -4 amendment You can watch the session here. 


Now in the Joint Committee On Ways and Means

SB 5543 – Funding for the Oregon Water Resource Dept.   COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill provides a variety of funding provisions for the Oregon Water Resource Department, some good , some bad. Good: Maintains OWRD’s current funding levels to provide services.  Package 107 would provide funding to modernize the IT systems. Package 111 would ensure the agency website is up to date and more accessible. Bad: The department does not have enough funding to properly collect data and manage the resource. Package 090 would reduce funding for data collection and services . We are opposed to this provision. 

The bill is currently in the Joint Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Natural Resources.  

The bill has had two informational sessions and you can watch the recordings here for Feb 18 and here for Feb 19. There was also a public hearing on Feb 20 and you can watch that here.  Testimony was mostly in support of SB 5543. 

HB 3814  Water Quality Standard Exemption for Seafood Processors   COIN OPPOSES this bill.

This bill would prohibits the Environmental Quality Commission and Department of Environmental Quality from requiring seafood processors to meet water quality or purity standards for bacteria in effluent discharges associated with fecal sources. We can't understand why this would even be considered!  The -1 amendment looks like an attempted compromise, but it's not much better, allowing water quality standards for seafood processors a mixing zone before quality is measured. In other words, instead of measuring the effluent from the plant, the effluent is measured somewhere downstream, after it has been diluted by streamflow. It's a BIG NO for us and for our environment. 

ACTION ALERT!  This bill had a public hearing on 3/20 (watch the recorded hearing here) and has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 1 at 8:00 AM. You can write to members of the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment and urge them NOT to move this bill forward. Watch the work session here. 

SB 747 - Reporting Fertilizer Use on Ag Land  
COIN ENDORSESD this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

Requires those who own 200+ irrigated agricultural land to report the type and quantity of fertilizer applied to fields to help monitor over-application of fertilizer that contaminates surface and groundwater with nitrates. 

The bill is the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and  Wildfire. 

A hearing was held on Feb 4.  Watch the hearing here.  You can read testimony here. 

Topic: Energy 

Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub bills - These four bills will all make the CEI Hub safer and more sustainable.  COIN ENDORSES all four bills.

A public hearing was held for all of these bills on 2/27 except HB 2949. There was a great show of support for these bills and the speakers were very convincing! Watch the hearing here.  Other resources: 

ACTION ALERT! The work sessions and possible committee votes for this bill have been delayed until Tuesday April 1 at 1:00 PM.  If you can, please attend the hearing in person or online here to show support.  You can also write to Committee members to express your support.  See links below to COIN testimony, worksheets and one-pagers on each bill for more info. The good news is that the work session delay is due to the addition of new language making the bills stronger. 

The bills are currently in the House Committee on  Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans. 


HB 3450 - CEI Hub Transition Plan   COIN ENDORSES this bill.
It directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to work with all stakeholders to develop an energy storage transition plan for the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub (CEI Hub). The CEI Hub includes generally all bulk oils or liquid fuel terminals located on the west bank of the Willamette River in Portland. An energy storage transition plan must contain short, medium, and long-term goals for the CEI Hub that ensures the energy resilience of Oregon's energy sector and allow the state to guide its energy future.  

A public hearing for HB 3450 was held Feb 27. You can watch the hearing here.


HB 2949 - Risk Bonding Study    COIN ENDORSES this bill IF amended.
This bill currently requires a study into requiring a risk bond to make sure the facility has funds for clean up in the event of a disaster. However, we understand there is an effort to strengthen this bill and make it a regulatory bill, rather than just a study bill. COIN supports the stronger regulatory action for this bill.  

A public hearing for HB 2949 was held Mar 6. You can watch the hearing here.


HB 2152 - Disaster Fuel Reserves   COIN ENDORSES this bill.
This bill calls on ODOE to develop and implement a plan to increase geographic distribution of disaster response fuels by region; prioritize list of locations for expanded or new fuel storage, consider negative community and environmental impacts, and consider potential for declining reliance on fossil fuels.  

A public hearing was held on Feb 27 for HB 2152. You can watch the hearing here.


HB 2151 - Risk Mitigation Fund    COIN ENDORSES this bill.
This bill would allow additional ways that moneys in the previously approved Seismic Risk Mitigation Fund can be spent.  COIN Worksheet for HB 2151

A public hearing was held on Feb 27 for HB 2151. You can watch the hearing here.
A second public hearing was held on Mar 6 for HB 2151. You can watch the hearing here.

HB 3081  One-Stop-Shop Energy Incentives COIN ENDORSES this bill.

Requires the State Department of Energy to coordinate with other organizations, conduct outreach, establish a statewide navigation and support system and provide information in multiple languages, as part of the department's single resource for providing information and assistance related to available energy efficiency incentives and programs. This bill enhances the one-stop-shop for the public to learn about energy incentives.

The bill is currently in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment.

There was a public hearing Tuesday Mar 4 at 8:00 AM. Watch the session here. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been rescheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 8 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here. 

HB 2200 / SB 681 - The Pause Act is a continuing effort to reduce state investments in fossil fuels.
COIN ENDORSES both bills.

The PAUSE Act, a bill, introduced by Oregon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner, directs the Oregon Investment Council (OIC) and the State Treasurer to reduce the carbon intensity of state investments and address investment risks related to climate change. The Act would place a 5 year moratorium on the State Treasurer from making any new or renewed private market fund or PERS investments in fossil fuels, subject to fiduciary duties. 

HB 2200 is currently in the House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans.  SB681 is in the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue.

COIN has joined the many groups in coalition with Divest Oregon in support of the Pause Act.

A public hearing for HB 2200 was held on Jan 28. Watch the recording here. A second public hearing was held for HB 2200 for Thursday March 13 at 1:00 PM for testimony on the -1 amendment. You can watch the hearing here. 

SB 681 had a public hearing on Wednesday March 19. You can watch the hearing here. Our friends at Divest Oregon tell us that, unfortunately, SB 681 probably won't go any farther this session, so we'll be working to make sure HB 2200 is as strong as it can be. 


ACTION ALERT! HB 2200 has been rescheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 1 at 1:00 PM. You can watch the session here.

HB 3179 - The FAIR Energy Act      COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

Directs the Public Utility Commission to consider the cumulative economic impact of a proposed rate or schedule of rates on a public utility's ratepayers if the proposed rate or schedule of rates will result in an increase of the public utility's revenue in this state by 2.5 percent or more. The FAIR Energy Act will better protect Oregon households from rising energy bills. 

Currently in the House Committee On Commerce and Consumer Protection

The first hearing was held on Feb 20. Watch that session here. A second public hearing for HB 3179 was held on Feb 25.  Watch the recording here.  


ACTION ALERT! The Fair Energy Act has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 1 at 1:00 PM. You can watch the session here. 

SB 92 - Community Solar Projects    COIN ENDORSES THIS BILL. 

The bill increases opportunities for community solar projects to interconnect with electric companies subject to regulation by the Oregon Public Utility Commission. It sets a cap on total generating capacity of all community solar projects to 4.5% of the utility's system peak in 2026 and increases that by 2% per year up to 14.5% in 2031. Currently the cap is lower, so this is an improvement.  Among other things, this bill will also decrease delays in community solar project completion, increase flexibility allowed for projects, and incentivize battery storage for community resilience. 

The bill is currently in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment. 

A public hearing was held Wednesday Feb 26. You can watch the hearing here.


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a possible work session and committee vote on Wednesday April 2 at 3:00 PM. You can watch the session here.

HB 3546 - The Power Act      COIN ENDORSES this bill with recommendations.

The Power Act aims to hold large energy users, such as data centers, cryptocurrency, and other big tech companies, responsible for paying for their own energy needs. New data centers and other massive energy users are placing a strain on the region’s power system, driving up the costs for everyone, and create additional pressures for the expansion of environmentally damaging fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, as well as new hazardous “natural gas” pipelines. It will require the Oregon Public Utility Commission to create new policies for Oregon’s investor-owned utilities (IOU’s) that require them to identify the costs that these massive energy users are adding to the system – and make them pay their fair share.  It will also require these large users (consuming 20 MW or more) to sign contracts for at least 10 years to enhance the likelihood a that the expensive infrastructure upgrades are worthwhile. 

While we appreciate the intentions of this bill, it's our understanding that there is nothing in this bill that PUC cannot do already, but PUC hasn’t taken this step, the legislature is stepping in. A potentially big disadvantage of this bill is it doesn’t guarantee the data centers would pay higher transmission or distribution rates.  The COIN Legislative Team intends to contact bill sponsors to clarify this before we decide whether or not to endorse HB 3546. 

HB 3546 is currently in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment. 

HB 3546 was given a public hearing Thursday Mar. 6. You can watch the hearing here.


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been rescheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 8 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here. 

HB 3628   Creates Oregon Electric Transmission Authority  COIN ENDORSES this bill.

Among other things, this bill would establish the Oregon Electric Transmission Authority (OETA) as an independent public corporation, to support the expansion of electric transmission capacity in this state by financing, developing, constructing, upgrading, owning and operating electric transmission infrastructure. Currently (no pun intended), electricity transmission planning applicable to Oregon is done mostly by the Bonneville Power Administration and the privately-owned utilities (PGE and PP&L). All of them have transmission lines in Oregon and elsewhere, although BPA has by far the most. The OETA would apparently build transmission lines thought to be needed, where BPA and the privately-owned utilities are not doing so.  We think it's a good idea for an Oregon public entity to have control over expanding this infrastructure, especially with the BPA under Trump's control. 

Currently in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment.

A public hearing was held on Feb 25. You can watch the recording here and read testimony by COIN member Alan Journet and OLCV. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Thursday April 3 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here. 

HB 3336 Grid Enhancement Technologies      COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill requires Oregon’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to evaluate the costs of using “grid enhancement technologies” (GETs) as alternatives to traditional approaches for expanding power grid capacity - developing new transmission lines. It also requires the IOUs to file with the Oregon PUC a plan to use GETs when they are the more cost-effective and efficient option. It does not mandate that the utilities adopt GETs; it simply requires that they do a full evaluation and use them when it turns out they are the best and cheapest option. GETs are hardware and software solutions that can be deployed to the existing grid that make it “smarter” and increase capacity, flexibility, and resiliency. The most common GETs are dynamic line ratings (DLRs), advanced power flow controls, and topology optimization. Additional GETs are emerging.  The combination of devices provides near real-time data on how the grid is performing, helps reroute power to underutilized circuits, and supports changing grid topologies—all of which provide grid operators and planners with a tool to effectively manage the grid and effectively integrate more renewables into it. 

New transmission lines will be required too, but it takes many years to get new transmission lines built. In contrast, GETs can often help increase the capacity, resiliency, and safety of the existing grid in a faster and cheaper way. Europe is way ahead of the US on GET development and deployment. Many utilities in the US are “dragging their feet”.

Here’s the Worksheet for HB3336 

Currently in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment.

This bill had a public hearing on 2/25. You can watch it here. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 1 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here.  

SB 685-1  Requires Notification for Hydrogen Blending into Residential Natural Gas Lines    COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill would require natural gas utilities to provide minimal public notice to customers when hydrogen blending is introduced into residential natural gas heating pipes. The base bill required pre-approval by customers; however, the -1 amendment removed the pre-approval feature and requires only advance public notice. Specifically, the bill requires that the natural gas utility company provide: 1) notification to the PUC prior to blending, with information on safety, 2) advance notice to affected customers and 3) notification of local fire and health departments for purposes of potential emergency preparedness.

Here is the worksheet on this bill. 

Currently in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment.

This bill has had two public hearings. You can watch them here:  Feb 10 hearing   Feb 12 hearing
You can read testimony in support of this bill by COIN members  Alan Journet and  Dan Meek. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a possible work session and committee vote on Wednesday April 2 at 3:00 PM. You can watch the session here.

SB 88  Protects Ratepayers from Utility Rate Increases Due to Certain Expenses.   COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill would prohibit an electric or gas company (utility) from recovering costs or expenses incurred by a utility from ratepayers that are associated with 

We like this bill, but it could be better. It could disallow charging ratepayers for CEO salaries that now top $6 million per year each.  

The bill is currently in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment. 

Currently in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment.

A public hearing was held for this bill on Mar 3. You can watch the recording here.  Check out testimony submitted in support of this bill by COIN members, Dan Meek, Alan Journet, and Craig Lacey. 


MOVEMENT ALERT!  This bill was voted out of committee 5-0 without recommendation as to passage, with request to rescind referral to Judiciary and request for referral to Rules.  It was officially referred to Rules by Senate President on 3/28. You can watch the session here. 

HB 3747 - Tax Credit for Battery Storage and Photovoltaic Systems   COIN ENDORSES this bill.

HB 3747 establishes a refundable income tax credit for the purchase of battery energy storage systems and solar photovoltaic electric systems. The bill would make the income tax credit refundable so if those who don’t have state income tax liability can still get money back. This makes it a rebate for those folks.

This bill had a public hearing on Mar 20. You can view the recorded hearing here. 

ACTION ALERT! It's also scheduled for a work session on Thursday April 3 at 8:00 AM.  You can write to members of the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment and urge them to vote YES on this bill and keep it moving forward. Watch the work session here. 

SB 1178   Increasing Small Scale Renewable Energy Facilities    COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill establishes that the existing requirement that 10 percent of the electricity sold in this state by each electric company that makes sales to 25,000 or more retail electricity consumers to be generated by small-scale renewable energy facilities or certain biomass facilities must be owned by a person that is not an electric company. Requires electric companies to make best efforts to continually increase the annual percentage of electricity sold that is generated by small-scale renewable energy facilities until 2030.  This bill also clarifies the language of the existing statute, which literally does not require that any utility meet the 10% requirement. It specifies that the 10% requirement cannot be met by facilities owned by an electric company (which means privately-owned utility). We don't like the inclusion of biomass facilities in this bill, but according to the bill sponsors, biomass facilities are already considered in Oregon law to be "renewable" though they are NOT climate-friendly. However, given that the intent of this bill is to diversify and decentralize our clean energy production, COIN is supporting it. The bill is currently in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment.

A public hearing was held on 3/24. You can view the recorded hearing here.  

ACTION ALERT!  There's a possible work session scheduled for Wednesday April 2 at 3:00 PM. You can view the session here. 

Nuclear Energy bills - COIN OPPOSES all of these bills. 

Several bills were introduced this session that would repeal or establish exemptions for the use of nuclear power, particularly small module nuclear reactors to power new data centers, AI development, and cryptocurrency.  The good news is that most of them did not make it out of committee by the March 21 deadline and so they are dead for 2025.  

However, four nuclear bills have been scheduled for work sessions and possible votes in committee.  Here are two Action Alerts related to these four bills. You can read about the bills below the action alerts.  

ACTION ALERT! SB 215 and SB 216 have both been scheduled for possible work sessions on Wednesday April 9 at 3:00 PM. Write to the Democrats on the Senate Energy and Environment Committee and urge them NOT to pass these bills:  Chair Senator Janeen Sollman, Senator Jeff Golden, and Senator Khanh Pham.  The work session can be viewed here. 

ACTION ALERT! HB 2038 and HB 2410 have both been scheduled for work sessions on Tuesday April 8 at 8:00 AM. Write to the Democrats on the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee and urge them NOT to pass these bills: Chair Representative John Lively, Vice-Chair Representative Mark Gamba, Representative Tom Andersen, Representative Ken Helm, Representative Emerson Levy, Representative Pam Marsh, and Representative Courtney Neron.  The work session can be viewed here. 


SB 215 - Repeals the 1980 Ballot Measure Law that required a federally licensed permanent disposal facility for nuclear waste and voter approval of any nuclear power plant certification. This bill would then refer the repeal to voters to approve or reject in the next general election on November 3, 2026. 


SB 216 Repeals the 1980 Ballot Measure Law outright without referral to voters. 


HB 2038 Directs the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE)  to  study the "advantages" of nuclear  energy - but not the disadvantages - and  to give  a  report  on  its  findings to the Legislature. This bill is assigned to the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment.


HB 2410 Allows the Energy Facility Siting Council to issue a site certificate for a small modular reactor energy facility demonstration project in Umatilla County with the approval of Umatilla County voters but not all Oregon voters as required by the 1980 Ballot Measure Law. It is simply a clever exemption to the 1980 Ballot Measure Law. Also, a site certificate for such a project could be for an unknown number of small modular nuclear reactors that could operate independent from the grid. Private parties interested in the development of data centers, AI development, and cryptocurrency would likely provide substantial investment in SMNRs. 


Additional Resources:


The following nuclear bills did not get assigned work sessions by the March 21 deadline and so most likely are considered dead for 2025.

HB 3565 Allows the siting and operation of a small modular reactor energy facility without requiring that there be a licensed repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste or that the proposed site certificate for the small modular reactor energy facility be submitted to the electors of this state for their approval or rejection. In other words, this essentially overrides the 1980 Ballot Measure Law as well. 


SB 635 Directs Oregon State University, original developer of NuScale's Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMNR) design,  to conduct a feasibility study on nuclear energy generation in Oregon. The bill does not identify who actually pays for the study and requires OSU to submit its report to the Legislature. Note that this is NOT an impartial study as OSU has an inherent conflict of interest as the original developer and proponent of the NuScale's Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMNR) design. OSU owns an interest in NuScale. 


HB 2426 Repeals the 1980 Ballot Measure Law that required a federally licensed permanent disposal facility for nuclear waste and voter approval of any nuclear power plant certification.


SB 994,   SB 995,   SB 996,   SB 997,   HB 3565  - Several more GOP pro-nuclear energy bills, all variations on the same theme as those described above, all seeking to overturn at least part of the 1980 Ballot Measure 7 passed by voters to ban nuclear power in Oregon unless there is a federally licensed repository for the radioactive waste and unless the voters approve it through another ballot measure. 

SB 688  Performance-Based Regulations for Electric Utilities  
COIN endorses this bill as originally proposed but OPPOSES the -5 amendment.

SB 688 directs the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to adopt, not later than January 2, 2027, a framework for carrying out performance-based regulation of electric utilities.  COIN endorsed this idea, but then the sponsors introduced the -5 amendment, which makes the entire exercise voluntary on the part of the PUC. The PUC could do this under existing law but has not. The point of the bill was to make performance-based regulations mandatory, so the bill has no point with the -5 amendment.  

MOVEMENT ALERT!  The Senate Committee On Energy and Environment held a work session on 3/24 and with a 4-1 vote sent the bill forward on a Do Pass with a -5 amendment.  

The bill now moves to the Joint Committee On Ways and Means.

SB 1143 - Thermal Energy Pilot Program for Natural Gas Companies    COIN OPPOSES this bill.

This misguide bill directs the Public Utility Commission to establish a pilot program that allows each natural gas company to develop a utility-scale thermal energy network pilot project to provide heating and cooling services to customers. A thermal energy network is like a district heating system. But requiring the PUC to authorize the gas utilities to implement a "utility-scale thermal energy network" just means that the utility gets to charge the cost of it to all ratepayers. There is nothing stopping a gas utility or any other business from building such networks on their own, without ratepayer subsidies and without helping the utility gain a monopoly on such services.

This bill had a public hearing on 3/19 (watch it here) and 

ACTION ALERT! SB 1143 has been scheduled for a possible work session on Wednesday April 2 at 3:00 PM. Write to members of the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment and urge them NOT to move this bill to benefit gas companies forward. You can watch the work session here. 

SB 47 - Eliminates "Obsolete" Public Entities  COIN is WATCHING this bill.

SB 47 supposedly eliminates obsolete public entities.  Among those it eliminates is Oregon Community Power, which is a statewide publicly-owned utility legal structure that the Oregon Legislature created in 2003 to buy PGE from Enron.  That sale did not happen. The SMS states:  "OCP is a publicly owned utility with a mission to provide reliable, low-cost electricity to consumers. It is regulated by the Public Utility Commission and is governed by a board of seven directors, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate." This existing hard-won structure should not be destroyed as it offers future opportunities for a statewide publicly-owned utility to acquire assets and begin operating. For example, it could be used to buy the PacifiCorp system, if that utility goes bankrupt or otherwise wants out of Oregon.

Currently in the Senate Committee On Rules. 

A public hearing for SB 47 was held Feb 17. Watch the session here.   

MOVEMENT ALERT!  There is now a work session scheduled for April 2 at 1:00 PM  with a posted amendment to remove all mention of OCP from the bill.  We have, for now changed our opposition of this bill to "watching." as our major concern has been removed. You can watch the work session here. 

SB 634 - Hydroelectricity and Renewable Portfolio Standards   COIN OPPOSES this bill.

It didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

SB 634 Specifies that electricity generated by a hydroelectric facility or other equipment that generates electricity through use of hydroelectric energy may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard. Currently, hydroelectric facilities built before 1995 are NOT considered to be renewable resources for the purpose of meeting goals. This bill would allow their inclusion. By including older, environmentally harmful hydroelectric facilities as a qualifying technology, SB 634 would enshrine the damaging effects of those facilities into law, dilute the value of the Renewable Energy Credits which are the foundation of the existing renewable electricity laws, and disincentivize the construction and acquisition of future renewable resources. Utilities could deem vast quantities of old hydropower as "renewable," thus satisfying the requirements by doing nothing.  It's a scientifically unsound bill and we urge our legislators to let it die in committee. 

This bill had a public hearing in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment  on 3/17 but has not yet been scheduled for a work session.  You can view the hearing here. Since this bill did not get assigned a work session by the March 21 deadline it most likely is considered dead for 2025.

HB 2656 - Prohibits Limits on Solar Net Metering     
COIN ENDORSESD this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

Prohibits the Public Utility Commission, municipal electric utilities, electric cooperatives and people's utility districts from setting a maximum amount of cumulative generating capacity for solar net metering systems that is allowed to be interconnected.  This is primarily aimed at prohibiting utilities from limiting use of rooftop solar cells.

COIN Worksheet

Currently in the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. 

A public hearing for HB 2656 was held Tuesday Feb 18. Watch the session here. Read the testimony here. 

SB 497 - Prohibits Energy Efficient Construction Codes   
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

Prohibits a municipality from adopting energy efficient construction standards or methods from the Reach or similar Code of standards and methods that are higher or more stringent than statewide standards and methods in effect under the Dept. of Consumer and Business Services. The bill is currently in the Senate Committee on Labor and Business. 

SB 969 -  Energy Facility Siting on Federal Land   
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

This bill would prohibit the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council from exercising jurisdiction over renewable energy facilities or transmission line on federal lands. We see no reason for Oregon to abandon its jurisdiction over such projects, particularly since the Trump administration has recently scrapped federal NEPA regulations — rules that since 1977 have told federal agencies how to analyze the effects of building roads and energy facilities.  While we support renewable energy, we recognize that improper siting can have negative environmental impacts. Some oversight is needed at the state level. 

Currently in the Senate Committee On Energy and Environment   

SB 969 had a hearing on Feb 26. You can watch it here.  You can read testimony from COIN member Dan Meek here and from Columbia Riverkeepers here. 

HB 3247  Restrictions on the Retirement of Power Facilities
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025.

Requires an electric company to first acquire a replacement resource of reliable or dispatchable electricity prior to retiring an electric power generating facility that provides reliable or dispatchable electricity.   Under this bill, it would be hard to close old fossil-fuel power generating facilities without first building new fossil-fuel power generating facilities to replace them.

See Dan Meek's Opposition Testimony

Currently in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment.

This bill had a public hearing on Feb 26. You can watch it here.  Read testimony opposing this bill from COIN members Alan Journet and Dan Meek. 

Topic: Wildlife

HB 2980 - Protecting urban wildlife and supporting wildlife rehabilitation centers

COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill establishes a Wildlife Stewardship Program that would include an educational campaign to message living with wildlife in urban and suburban areas, minimizing human-wildlife conflict and emphasizing wildlife should stay wild. The program would include biologists involved in outreach and training to local governments, community groups, schools, law enforcement, animal control and such. The program would also support wildlife rehabilitators and administer a grant program for them. COIN Worksheet for HB 2980.

A public hearing for HB2980 was held Feb 4. Watch the session here.

MOVEMENT ALERT: During a work session on Feb 18, the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment voted unanimously to pass the bill. HB 2980 is now in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Natural Resources. Watch the Feb 18 session here.

HB 2977 - 1% for Wildlife     COIN ENDORSES this bill.


The “1% for wildlife” bill, creates more funding for habitat conservation to address the animal extinction crisis. It would raise the state’s transient lodging tax from 1.5% to 2.5% to create a stable source of funding habitat conservation and prevent extinction of many imperiled species. Oregon Wild has pointed out, “In Oregon, 294 species face a high risk of extinction, and 11 key habitats are in danger. Restoring beaver habitats (as an example) can help, but can only do so much. Funding is needed to hire biologists and other scientists, monitor species on the ground, restore habitats” and more. 


Currently in the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water 

A public hearing for HB 2977 was held on Feb 24. Watch the session here.  

MOVEMENT ALERT! The House Committee voted 6-3 to move this bill without recommendation for passage. You can watch the work session here. 

The bill has been referred to the House Committee On Revenue.

HB 2679 - Protects Pollinators and Wildlife   COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

This bill would protect bees and other wildlife pollinators by putting limits on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on residential landscapes.  

This bill is currently in the  House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment.

A public hearing was held for HB 2679 on Mar 4. You can watch the hearing here. 

ACTION ALERT!  This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Thursday April 3 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the session here. 

HB 3143 - Landowners Living With Beavers Grant Program    COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

This bill is essentially the same bill we endorsed in 2024 that didn't make it through the session. Beavers are an important keystone species throughout Oregon, but they can cause damage to property and crops and have thus been the target of extermination efforts for decades. This is a proposal for a $1.5 million grant program fund that incentivizes private landowners to engage and implement non-lethal coexistence strategies. It will be administered through the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund under ODFW as flexible block grants up to $50K until the fund runs out. The program will allow for some funds to be allocated for technical assistance. Eligible entities to apply for grants include watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts, and nonprofits.

MOVEMENT ALERT: This bill had a public hearing on Feb 5. Virtually all of the testimony was in support of this bill. At the work session on Feb 10, it passed out of committee with a vote of 8-0 (with one absence). It's now in the Joint Ways and Means Committee.

ACTION ALERT: COIN members can urge committee members to fund this bill and keep it moving forward. It didn't make it through last year. Let's help get it across the finish line this year. 

HB 3932   Protections for Beavers  COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

HB 3932 would close beaver hunting and trapping in waterways that flow through or are adjacent to public lands in order to allow beavers to do what they do: improve water quality and restore habitat. The activities of beavers help slow water flow, restore impacted water tables and underground aquifers, enhance streamside shade, riparian areas, and wetlands that  buffer and filter toxins, and create wildlife and fish habitat at the same time. This is not an “anti-hunting” bill, but rather would allow beavers to help us improve water quality and watershed health.  The bill is currently in the House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment.

ACTION ALERT! This bill had a public hearing on Tuesday March 25 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the 3/25 hearing here. There's also a work session and possible vote scheduled for Tuesday April 8 at 8:00 AM.  You can watch the work session here. 

HB 2984 - Oregon Conservation & Recreation Fund   COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

HB  2984 appropriates $1.5 million to ODFW for deposit in the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund (OCRF) for projects that "relate to water" and protect, maintain or enhance fish and wildlife resources. OCRF is overseen by an advisory committee and serves as a grant fund for projects that further the Oregon Conservation Strategy. In 2022, the legislature appropriated $5 million to OCRF as part of the drought resilience package; the OCRF has been effective in spending down those funds on meaningful projects and this bill will help maintain that momentum. 

MOVEMENT ALERT! A public hearing was held on Feb 5 and a work session was held on Feb 12 when the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water voted unanimously to pass this bill. Now it's in the Joint Committee On Ways and Means. 

ACTION ALERT: If you want to help keep this bill moving forward, you can email committee members and urge them to fully fund this bill. 

HB  2978 A -  Reducing Vehicle-Wildlife Collisions    COIN ENDORSES THIS BILL.

HB 2978 A will improve collaboration between Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in reducing vehicle-wildlife collisions including improvements in the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan.  It will require more collaboration between ODOT and ODFW in implementing wildlife corridors, particularly near public roadways. The goal is to reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions and minimize impacts on wildlife corridor connectivity in highway road projects. It is a  policy bill that will hopefully pave the way for wildlife crossing funding to be included in SB 5541, ODOT's budget bill.

MOVEMENT ALERT!  This bill has bounced around in the House a bit,  but a second work session was held on 3/24 in the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water and the committee voted 9-0 for a Do Pass recommendation. 

ACTION ALERT! This bill now goes to the Senate Floor for a vote on Monday March 31. Contact your senator and urge them to vote YES on this bill. 

HB 2342 - Incremental Increases of ODFW License and Tag Fees   COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

This bill would implement an incremental increase for license and tag fees issued by Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). The last increase in license and tag fees was 6 years ago. The more money for the “game” species conservation, the less they will take from funds for wildlife “non-game” species conservation. Here is the 

A public hearing was held on Feb 24. Watch the hearing here. 

MOVEMENT ALERT!  At the Mar 24 work session, the committee voted 9-0 to move HB 2342 forward with a Do pass recommendation. You can watch the work session here. 

Referred to the Joint Committee On Ways and Means. 

HB 3871  Animal Welfare Trust and Fund to support low cost spay/neuter and other veterinary care   COIN is WATCHING this bill pending endorsement.


HB 3871 would establish a 9 member Animal Welfare Trust that would include at least 1 veterinarian, 2 Oregon residents, and representatives from tribes, animal impound shelters, and animal rescue and animal support organizations. The bill also requires the Treasury to establish an Animal Welfare Fund from which the Trust shall provide grants to agencies, animal rescue entities, community service providers and veterinary clinics to pay for services for animals belonging from low-income households or underserved communities. The Trust would establish the criteria and process for providing such grants and must also pursue grants and otherwise raise funds for the Fund. 


Veterinary care has become exclusive and out of reach for many folks, due in part to a shortage of veterinary professionals. This has meant some people are not able to get their pets adequate care or are surrendering them to shelters in higher numbers than we would see if they could find affordable veterinary care. Low cost spay/neuter, in particular, has been proven to help reduce the number of cats and dogs that end up in shelters or simply homeless. Many communities are overrun by cats, for example, that have been abandoned or are the result of a pet that was not spayed/neutered; these cats become an invasive species that kill birds and upend ecosystems and biodiversity.


ACTION ALERT: The bill had a public hearing on March 17, 2025 in the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water, and a work session is set for April 2, 2025. Please call or write Committee members and urge them to pass this bill. 

SB 512 - Rock Creek Hatchery   COIN OPPOSES this bill. 

This bill directs the State Fish and Wildlife Commission to operate a summer steelhead fish hatchery at the Rock Creek Hatchery and release the hatchery fish into the North Umpqua River. It requests $2 million from the General Fund to the State Fish and Wildlife Commission. In 2020, the Rock Creek Fish Hatchery was burned in a regional wildfire. In 2022, ODFW terminated the 64-year-old Rock Creek hatchery program in an effort to restore wild summer steelhead populations. ODFW and multiple conservation and fish organizations do NOT recommend rebuilding a hatchery here, but recommend instead to focus on habitat restoration to help reduce high water temperatures in order to restore wild fish populations.  We agree!  Currently in the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire.

MOVEMENT ALERT: This bill had public hearing and work session on 3/ 27 at 1:00 PM. The -2 amendment was approved, which turns this into a "study" bill, and it passed out of committee 5-0 with a Do Pass recommendation. We are disappointed that the committee passed this bill, even though it was downdgraded to a study bill.  The frivolity of yet another study to tell us what we already know from decades of data which the proponents of this bill refuse to accept is a waste of taxpayer dollars. You can contact members of the Joint Committee On Ways and Means and urge them NOT to fund this bill.  Watch the session here.

SB 777 - Increases Compensation Amount under Oregon's Wolf Predation Loss Compensation Program. COIN OPPOSES this bill.  

This is another Republican-led bill to undermine Oregon's Wolf Predation Loss Compensation Program (WPLCP) by increasing by 7 times the current fair market value standard for compensation for loss of domestic animals.  The WPLCP has received broad support over the years for its efforts to reduce conflicts with wolves. Farmers and ranchers are currently compensated at fair market value for any cows, sheep, and the like, or guardian dog losses due to wolf predation. However, SB 777 sets a new standard at 7 times the current amount of compensation. The need for the state to pay 7 times the fair market value for lost animals is unclear. This bill seems to do nothing to advance wildlife coexistence measures in Oregon. 

A public hearing was held Thursday Feb 27. You can watch the hearing here. A second public hearing was held on Mar 11. You can watch the hearing here. 

MOVEMENT ALERT: A work session was held on 3/18 and the committee voted 5-0 to pass this bill with the -5 amendment, which reduced the maximum compensation to five times the market value for some animals, and it adds that the "compensation is provided only if owners have demonstrated implementation of best management practices to deter wolves, including reasonable use of nonlethal methods when practicable." It's not clear what this means particularly as Oregon League of Conservation Voters points out: 

This "bill could actually decrease the investment in reducing  wolf livestock conflict. Moreover, over $1.3 million dollars of the anti-poaching budget and the proposed new FTE wolf coexistence biologist were cut from the ODFW budget. It does not make sense to fail to invest in conflict reduction and anti-poaching while applying a multiplier to the flawed wolf compensation program. We can’t afford to jeopardize the program and endanger the recovery of Oregon’s wolves, which is exactly what would happen if SB 777-5 passes". 

Watch the proceedings here.  On 3/25, the full Senate voted 28-1 to pass this bill. Now it moves to the House and will be assigned to a committee.  We'll continue to oppose this bill in the House. 

Read here an op ed about why this bill should not pass.

SB 222 - Endangered or Threatened Predator Removal      COIN OPPOSES this bill.

SB 222 has a misleading digest: "The Act tells an agency to create a program to protect salmon. "

In fact, it is a program to kill "species that prey on salmon," including species on the Endangered or Threatened Species Lists.  It prohibits the state from altering salmon release sites or the operation of salmon enhancement projects in order to protect the predator species.  It directs the state to apply to federal agencies for waivers or permits necessary to attack the Endangered or Threatened species.

Currently in the Senate Energy and Environment Committee

A public hearing for SB 222 was held Feb 19. Watch the session here.  Read the testimony here. 

MOVEMENT ALERT! A work session was held on 3/19 and the committee voted 5-0 with a Do Pass recommendation. Watch the proceedings here. The bill now goes to Joint Ways and Means Committee.

SB 333 and HB 2403 - Creation of Special Districts for Predator Control    COIN OPPOSES these bills.
SB 333 didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025. 

Both of these bills authorize the creation of special taxing districts to raise money for control of wildlife considered a danger to farm animals and or problematic to other agriculture. The species include coyotes, bears, cougars, gray wolves, and “fur-bearing mammals” such as beavers, bobcats, otters and foxes. The Act would let landowners, per County, form a “district” to pay the costs to their County, of staving off damage to their land caused by predators, by both nonlethal and lethal means. 

Passing this bill would fly in the face of democratic processes. The makeup of the proposed County boards is biased towards the control of predators or furbearers. There are no board members with non-landowner affiliations. Wildlife belongs to the people regardless of land ownership. Citizens of Oregon who have an interest in wildlife are left out of the process; we would have zero input. ODFW has the responsibility of managing our wildlife.  The State must retain the responsibilities to sustain all endemic wildlife species in Oregon, including predators and furbearers.  ODFW must retain it.

HB 2403 is currently in the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water and SB 333 is currently in the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire. 

ACTION ALERT! HB 2403 had a public hearing on 3/24. You can watch the hearing here.  A work session and possible committee vote has also been scheduled for Wednesday April 9 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the work session here. 

Hunting Cougars with Dogs - COIN OPPOSES these two bills.
Neither bill had a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so they are both likely dead for 2025.

SB 769 would exempt a county from the existing ban under ORS Section 498.164 on hunting cougars with dogs, a cruel practice, if voters in the county approve the practice. There is already an exception under this law for cougars that cause damage.  

SB 412 would direct the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to make special cougar tags available that would allow the use of dogs to hunt or pursue cougars.  

SB 776  Predator Control in Drought Areas 
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025. 

SB 776 instructs the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to identify certain "drought" areas as wildlife management units or herd ranges and undertake predator control in the wildlife management units or herd ranges until certain criteria are met. Those criteria require the killing of unspecified predators as the primary method of increasing some big game species herds as much as 60% in areas having some of the worst habitat conditions due to many other factors affecting wildlife populations in addition to drought. ODFW already implements conservation measures as identified in Section 2 of SB 776, through their species and habitat management plans, making this bill redundant to current ongoing activities. Some of the species this bill references killing are in decline themselves.

Currently in the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire.

SB 511 – Salmon Credit Pilot Program  
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025. 

This bill is being touted as similar to a carbon credit program. It directs the Department of State Lands, in consultation with the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, to develop a salmon credit pilot program to encourage the voluntary restoration of salmonid habitat in the Coquille and Coos watershed basins. The key here is "voluntary." If a developer wants to develop on, for example, a wetland with important salmon habitat, this program would allow them to find another piece of property elsewhere on which to conduct some mitigation project, with no requirement that the habitat on the mitigated property be equal in any way to the habitat that was lost. Apples and oranges. We're not fooled. This bill is a gift to developers. 

This bill is currently in the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire.

A public hearing was held on Feb 6 and the bill hasn't seen any action since then. You can view the recording here. Here's some great testimony from Trout Unlimited that spells out this bills shortcomings.

SB 331  Maintain Hatchery and Wild Fish as a Single Population.
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025. 

This is another bad bill for fish. It directs the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to manage indigenous stocks of salmon and steelhead in a watershed, whether naturally produced or hatchery produced, as a single, integrated native fish population.  Even though hatchery-produced fish are NOT native. It's a puzzler to us, especially since the science on mixing hatchery fish with natives has been so abundantly clear for decades - It's really bad for the native fish.  

This bill is currently in the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire.

No hearings  have been scheduled for this bill - hopefully it will die a quiet death in committee. 

Topic: Coastal Ecosystems

HB 2557 - Bans Octopus Farming in Oregon    COIN ENDORSES this bill.

This bill will make it illegal to raise octopus as food for humans or take part in the sale of octopus that was raised as food for humans. Washington and California already have such bans so this would make the ban continuous along the continental US west coast. Unfortunately, octopus farming is an emerging global practice, one that raises significant ethical issues due to the intelligence of octopuses, as well as significant environmental issues which would threaten Oregon's unique coastal aquatic ecosystems. 

HB 2557 is currently in the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water. 

A public hearing was held on Feb 3 where the bill received overwhelming support. You can view the session here and read the testimony here.

Read COIN's Letter to the Committee in Support of HB 2557.


ACTION ALERT!  This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Wednesday April 9 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the work session here. 

HB 3580-2 - Eelgrass Study   COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

This Act establishes the Task Force on Eelgrass Resources, provides duties of the task force, and directs the task force to submit a report to the Legislative Assembly no later than September 15, 2027. Declares an emergency, effective on passage. Coastal communities are increasingly impacted by rising seas and extreme weather. This bill creates a taskforce to set conservation and restoration targets for this important carbon-sequestering species. Decreasing eelgrass could present threats to coastal climate resilience. 

This bill is currently in the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water. 

A public hearing was held on Mar 5. Watch the session here. 


MOVEMENT ALERT! The Committee unanimously approved the bill with the -2 amendment that removed the provision that would have allowed the Task Force on Eelgrass Resources to recommend withdrawing critical eelgrass habitat areas from leasing. You can watch the work session here. The bill now goes to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. 

HB 3786 - Blue Economy/Vibrant Coastal Communities   COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

This bill appropriates $3 million in funds to the Oregon Ocean Science Fund for the purpose of disbursing competitive grants for:

Here's more info from Oregon Ocean Science Trust. The bill is in the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water.

This bill had a public hearing on Mar 17. You can view the hearing here. 


ACTION ALERT!  This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Monday March 31 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the work session here. 

HB 3587  Rocky Habitat COIN ENDORSES this bill. 

HB 3587 directs the Department of Land Conservation and Development to develop site plans for coastal rocky habitats. (Haystack Rock and other large offshore rock formations, along with the species that frequent them, are examples of coastal rocky habitats.) This is required to be done in coordination with other relevant state agencies and to assist community-based partners in implementing these plans.  

HB 3587 Worksheet  

The bill is in the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water.

This bill had a public hearing on Mar 5. You can view the hearing here. 


ACTION ALERT!  This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Monday March 31 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the work session here. 

HB 2965-5 - Restrictions on Net Pen Aquaculture 
COIN ENDORSESD this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025. 

This bill would restrict use of net pens or cages that confine finfish in marine or estuarine waters.  Net pens or cages are already banned or severely restricted in CA, WA, and AK. A typical industrial fish farm results in 1 million pounds of waste each year.  Fish feed, waste, chemicals, and such are discharged into marine and estuarine waters, causing pollution.  There have been massive fish escapes that have released millions of farmed fish into our these waters, causing havoc in wild fish ecosystems and disease in wild fish populations. 

This bill will not prevent the growth of aquaculture in Oregon; it will help protect our oceans and estuarine waters and aquatic ecosystems from unnecessary damage. 

Topic: Forestry and Wildfire

HB 3103 - Requires logging to be prioritized in management of state forests   COIN OPPOSES this bill.


This bill would require the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to establish a harvest level by rule that prioritizes timber harvest over other values. Currently, management of state forests requires a balance of multiple values, including habitat, clean water, fish and wildlife, and recreation. The bill undermines all other plans, policies or directives made by the Board of Forestry, including the State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan and the Climate Change and Carbon Plan.  Also, HB 3103 would establish a new right to sue the ODF over state forest timber harvest plans and obtain court orders to compel more clearcuts on public land.

Currently in House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water 


A public hearing was held on HB 3103 Monday, Mar 3.  View the recording of the hearing here. 


ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Monday March 31 at 8:00 AM. You can watch the work session here.  You can also contact committee members and urge them to vote against this bill. 

HB 3666 - Utilities and Wildfire Liability   COIN OPPOSES this bill.

HB 3666 requires electric public utilities to apply for a wildfire safety certification. It allows consumer-owned utilities to apply for the certification, too. The Public Utility Commission (PUC) will then issue a certification if the applicant has and implements a “wildfire protection plan” or “wildfire mitigation plan” and meets certain requirements. This certification, however, would potentially immunize utilities from liability for wildfires they cause. The PUC can grant applications for wildfire safety certifications based on utility’s plans, but the certificate is good for a year and there’s no provision for requiring them to carry out their plan. We think it’s a scam to protect utilities from responsibility. 

The bill is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.  

There's a -1 amendment which bill sponsor Rep Pam Marsh claims would fix the concern over liability, but we don't believe it does. See this article in the Oregon Capital Chronicle about "the fix."  And read COIN's testimony in opposition here.

A public hearing was held for HB 3666 on Mar 18.  You can watch the hearing here. 

ACTION ALERT!  This bill has been scheduled for a work session and possible committee vote on Tuesday April 1 at 3:00 PM.  You can watch the session here.  You can also contact committee members and urge them to vote against HB 3666. 

HB 3917  Catastrophic Wildfire Fund COIN OPPOSES this bill.

HB 3917, filed very recently, would create a “catastrophic wildfire fund” with the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) to reimburse people who lose homes or businesses to utility-caused wildfires. However, those receiving money from the fund must agree not to sue utility companies for any damage. No claimant can recover more than 80% of the experienced property damage and noneconomic damages of $100,000, unless there was serious bodily injury or death. If the fund is depleted, an “independent administrator” appointed by the OPUC can offer claimants a reduced payment. If the claimant accepts the reduced payment, they are barred from suing the utility. No one who receives a payment can sue the utility for compensation, "regardless of whether the fund compensated the full or partial amount of the claim for loss."

Each privately-owned utility (PGE, PP&L, Idaho Power) decides how much to put into the fund, but the fund cannot exceed $800 million from all utilities. A utility gets to recover from ratepayers 50% of the amounts put into the fund, but this shall not increase rates by more than 3%.

The OPUC shall initiate an investigation to review the utility’s actions and conduct prior to the ignition of the catastrophic wildfire to evaluate and determine whether the actions of the public utility were prudent. Anyone claiming it was not prudent has to prove that by "providing clear and convincing evidence” that some part of the public utility’s overall systems, processes or programs failed to “proactively manage wildfire risk." If OPUC determines that a utility’s actions and conduct that caused the catastrophic wildfire were imprudent, OPUC can order the utility to reimburse the fund, in whole or in part, for claims paid from the fund as a result of the catastrophic wildfire, although that reimbursement is limited. 

HB 3917 was the result of meetings primarily between legislators and public utility companies. It is a companion bill to HB 3666, which COIN opposes, as do attorneys for wildfire survivors, ratepayer advocates, and the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. It is designed to limit the liability of public utilities for catastrophic wildfires caused by them. Ratepayers can be required to subsidize damages caused by public utility companies’ negligence, unless an independent investigator determines the company acted negligently. Unless someone can prove by “clear and convincing” evidence (a higher bar than a “negligence” claim) that a public utility’s actions were imprudent, the company cannot be ordered in whole or in part to reimburse the fund for claims paid. 

Currently in the House Judiciary Committee

ACTION ALERT! This bill has been scheduled for a public hearing and possible work session (and possible committee vote) on Tuesday April 1 at 3:00 PM.  You can register to testify or submit written testimony here.  You can watch the session here. 

SB 404 - State Forest Conveyance and Valuation Changes 
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025. 

Directs the State Board of Forestry to convey certain state forest lands to a county that requests conveyance upon determining it (the county) would secure the greatest permanent value of the lands to the county (which likely means logging). This bill is in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire. 

SB 678 - Undoes wildfire protections adopted in 2021 in SB 762. 
COIN OPPOSED this bill but it didn't get a work session scheduled by the 3/21 deadline so it's likely dead for 2025. 

This disastrous bill would repeal the entirety of the 2021 Senate Bill 762, the package of wildfire actions and funding priorities passed in response to the devastating wildfires of 2020 that killed nine people and became the most expensive natural disaster in state history. SB 678 would undo all the wildfire protection provisions of that 2021 package, including requiring electric utilities to create wildfire protection plans, requiring state agencies to develop new defensible space and building code requirements to protect homes and communities, and creating programs to mitigate the impact of wildfire smoke on public health. 

While we believe this bill is very unlikely to go anywhere this session, it would be so destructive that we want to be on the record opposing it. It's in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire. You can write to committee members to let them know what a terrible bill it is, and hopefully they will not even give it a hearing.  (They didn't!)