Preventing Global Warming

One of the bills we were hoping to shake out of Ways and Means will have a hearing on Monday.  HB 3543 codifies greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. HB 3543 also creates the Oregon Global Warming Commission which coordinates local and state efforts to halt growth of greenhouse gas emissions and it will fund the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.  The hearing in the Natural Resources Subcommittee of Ways and Means will be at 8:30am in H-174.

Expanding Oregon’s Bottle Bill

SB 707 was also signed by the Governor in a moving ceremony on Thursday which featured Representative Berger's family.  Representative Berger's father was the "father" of the original bottle bill.

Protecting Oregon’s Coastal Ecosystems and Wetlands

One more bill is headed to the Governor! SB 790 places a moratorium on offshore drilling for oil, gas or sulfur off of Oregon’s coast until 2010.

HB 2105 a bill that increases the fees charged by the Division of State Lands for permits to remove or fill material.  HB 2105 passed the House Energy and Environment committee on March 7 and passed the Natural Resources Subcommittee of Ways and Means yesterday.

Protecting Oregon’s Farmland and Special Places

Unfortunately, HB 3337 passed the Senate 25-2 last Friday and is headed to the Governor, who indicated that he would sign the bill if it came to him.  HB 3337 divides the Eugene/Springfield UGB into two UGB’s for the purpose of inventorying buildable lands. This takes away the ability to adequately plan growth for the region as a whole.

The House and Senate will convene a conference committee for HB 2723. HB 2723 gives cities and counties the ability to create a process that legalizes illegally divided lots or parcels that were purchased without knowledge of the legal status of the land.  It also creates safeguards to put a stop to the sale of illegal lots to unsuspecting purchasers, which protects natural resource lands from inappropriate fragmentation and provides certainty in the real estate market.

SB 336 is the bill which incorporates the consideration of schools when land use planning decisions are made.  It is awaiting a vote on the House floor and will then need to go back to the Senate for concurrence.

Reducing Toxics in our Wastewater

SB 704 passed the House on Tuesday and the Senate for concurrence on Thursday. SB 704 would require dentists to have an amalgam separator installed in any wastewater drain if materials containing mercury pass through the drain.  Dental amalgam, the most common tooth restorative material, contains 40-50% mercury. When amalgam fillings are placed or removed, mercury-containing waste is discharged into the sanitary sewer lines. The traditional in-line filtration and vacuum systems dentists use capture only 80% of the mercury. The remaining 20% bypasses these in-line systems and is handled as any other wastewater, and could end up on our waterways.

Protecting Oregon’s Wildlife

HB 2971 is scheduled on the Senate floor today. HB 2971 allows the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to appoint individuals (sport hunters) to act as agents of the state to hunt cougars and bears with dogs as part of the Cougar and Bear Management Plans. Although many OCN groups are not happy about the passage of this bill, there is optimism that the legislature will want to re-visit the Cougar and Bear Management Plans to see if they are adequately protecting these animals in future sessions.

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