OTA Dispatch Issue 4 2019

Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch Waylon Buchan OTA Director of Government Affairs LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 6 WE ARE RIGHT around the corner from the 2020 Legislative Session, which begins on February 3. Because it falls on an even-numbered year, the upcoming session is constitutionally constrained to 35 days, otherwise known as a ‘short session.’ Initially, the intent of a short session was for legislators to come back to Salem and pass budgetary fixes or minor modifications to previously passed measures. However, over the years we have seen short sessions morph into venues for high-caliber policy topics. Even in a ‘normal’ year, complicated issues like corporate taxes, transportation packages, or sweeping cap- and-trade programs are difficult to push through the truncated legislative process. 2020, however, is shaping up to be anything but normal. The question of whether cap-and-trade, or some variation of it, will pass in 2020 remains clouded by a number of factors. After the dramatic conclusion of the 2019 session, some lawmakers left Salem with bruised egos while others were welcomed back to their rural districts as folk heroes. This means progressive lawmakers must answer to their base and clamor for progress on climate change, while the minority party was essentially rewarded for walking out and denying Democrats a quorum last summer. The #TimberUnity movement continues to be a powerful grassroots voice dedicated to standing up for working Oregonians. Both sides remain divided and entrenched on the issue of climate policy. Another walkout by Republicans is certainly possible in 2020, especially if Democrats bring back controversial gun legislation, vaccine mandates, or a reincarnated cap-and- trade bill from last session (HB 2020). Democrats must decide whether to push an aggressive climate agenda that could potentially trigger a Republican walkout or be cautious in order to keep a quorum and address their other priorities, like housing or healthcare. In October, the Trump administration brought a lawsuit against the State of California, alleging that California overstepped its legal authority by forging a cap-and-trade agreement with another country—Canada. After all, the U.S. Constitution provides that the President “shall have the Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur.” The Trump administration argues that by entering into an international emission agreement, California unlawfully undermined the President’s ability to negotiate competitive agreements with other nations. The suit also names as a defendant the Western Climate Initiative, the non-profit entity which acts as administrator for cap-and-trade auctions amongst the participating U.S. states and Canadian provinces. This is all relevant to upcoming carbon negotiations, because connecting to the WCI market was a central pillar of HB 2020 from last session. With the future of the WCI in jeopardy, lawmakers must decide if crafting a more flexible solution for Oregon is the right path, or if they should stick to their more rigid program built around trading credits with California and Quebec. Despite this uncertainty, Governor Brown has threatened to use her executive order authority to mandate carbon policy in Oregon. Whether Brown’s executive authority extends far enough to put a meaningful carbon program in place is quite debatable, but the looming threat of executive action may compel some legislators to “pass something” in 2020. At the same time, environmental groups are pursuing another path for carbon policy by going straight to the ballot box. In early October, these groups filed three ballot initiatives which would require clean electric energy and a carbon-free Oregon economy by the year 2050. These groups aim to place additional pressure on legislators with these ballot measures, but they must still gather the appropriate signatures and clear ballot drafting challenges before they could go to the voters. If they did appear on a 2020 ballot, we are likely to see a high-dollar fight over the airwaves leading up to the election, with the central issue being how much Oregonian’s are willing to personally pay to combat climate change. Polling demonstrates that the average Oregonian does care about the global climate issue and they We are continuing to work with a large coalition of impacted industries to push back on harmful carbon policy in Oregon. Government Affairs Update