Climate Challenge, Day 20: Meeting with Sara, our state senator

Sara Gelser came to CHS this afternoon to talk with us about climate change legislation at the state level and how to communicate most effectively with our representatives. It was a nice mix f long-term activists and AP Gov students, who came for the extra credit and stayed to ask good questions.

Notes from Susan!

Meeting with Sen. Sara Gelser Hosted by Charlyn Ellis

Wednesday, December 19, 2018, 3:00 PM, Room 232 at CHS

Introduction

Top priorities in the legislature this year include clean energy jobs legislation and education (new generation investment). Climate action is in the governor's budget this session, so her agencies can talk about it and determine what they need. (They can’t if it’s not in the budget.)

Green Energy Jobs Legislation

The green energy jobs bill was introduced last year, too late for action then, but it was a “marker in the sand” for this session. It mobilized climate activists all over the state around a single focus. In addition, the legislators found new ways to talk to new people, especially low income people and those interested in the natural resources economy. Important theme: How can we use dividends from carbon to help with some of the issues those people face?

A joint carbon committee has been meeting and working on the bill introduced last session. That committee, separate from other environmental committees, includes both House and Senate.

Sara's big fear is that the alliance around clean energy jobs legislation is so broad that no one will like everything. There will have to be compromise. Implementation of offsets and credits might be a big issue. [Susan’ note: This might be one of those “don’t let the desire for perfection destroy the chance to do something good” concerns.] The tribes lead (indigenous people); they have some ideas we need to hear. The tribes want to do reforestation—looking at the timber industry and calcu­lating loss of absorption from trees that are cut. This might be a hard sell.

They are not using the term "tax." We don't know for sure what it will be called, but “offsets and credits” is a possibility. The idea is that over time, total emissions decrease. In explaining “offset,” Sara said that money could be returned to citizens or invested in other things less carbon intensive.

The bill number isn’t known yet.

There is bipartisan cooperation, and corporations are involved too. We need nuance and a level of detail that can’t occur when voters vote on something. If Oregon can pass its own climate legisla­tion, we'll be ahead when national policy is implemented.

Question: How do we help with clean energy jobs bill? Sara said to pay attention, keep writing letters, and making calls. All information about the legislation can be found online, as it becomes available.

Question: Do legislators have a sense of the climate emergency? Sara replied that some do, but not all. Many understand that it’s a problem, but they don’t feel the urgency.

Warning: Tax measures for schools and carbon reduction are sure to face opposition, with lots of outside money pouring in to influence decisions.

Surprise diversion: The legislature can't find an additional 2 or 3 billion dollars for anything without a tax increase. They are going to try to increase tax equity (reduce the inequity between low-income individuals and incorporations).

Jordan Cove: Someone asked about the legislature and Jordan Cove. Sara explained that the current situation is about permitting. The legislature doesn't vote on it.

Land Use and Building Codes

The conversation turned to land use issues and building codes for increased efficiency. House Speaker Tina Kotek is a fierce advocate for affordable housing. A big question: Are affordability and energy efficiency in opposition to each other? Also how does transportation efficiency relate? Sara wasn’t sure who knows the most about these issues—possibly Sen. Lee Beyer from Eugene.

New legislation would require cities to allow for non-single family homes on a lot—such as four small houses built around a common area. There could be single family and multi-family houses on the same lots. These strategies would allow for a lot of infill. It's false that "no one would be allowed to build single-family homes, ever."

Strategies for Letters and Email Messages

For those form messages, or even original ones, put in the subject line: [name] from [city] opposes (or supports) [bill number]. This allows staff to easily count and file messages.

A good strategy is to view the committee pages on legislative website, in order to write to all committee members.

You can sign up to get emails giving information about bills, their public hearings, etc.

How to find out what a bill’s number is: enter a keyword and the system will bring up related legislation. Remember to check both the House and the Senate.

Letter from organizations might be more effective than individual letters.

Related National News: On Wednesday, Sen. Jeff Flake (R - Arizona) and Sen. Chris Coons (D – Delaware) co-introduced the U.S. Senate’s equivalent of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.