Oregon Newspapers Critical of ‘Cap and Invest’

By Oregon Senate Republicans

Last week Senator Michael Dembrow (D-Portland) and Representative Ken Helm (D-Beaverton) introduced their pursuit of new regulations on carbon dioxide emissions. The legislation, coined the “Manufacturing Phase Out Act of 2018” by Senator Alan Olsen (R-Canby), would establish a price per ton fee on emissions for the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the state, and claims to reinvest the proceeds into job opportunities for economically distressed communities in Oregon. Newspapers from around the state have weighed in on the issue:

Carbon bill isn’t a good fit for short session – Albany Democrat Herald

…it has no business being considered in a short session of the Legislature. It’s a significant enough piece of legislation, with enough far-reaching ramifications, that it requires the fuller examination it would receive in the longer legislative sessions held in odd-numbered years.

We don’t want California’s cap-and-trade law – Guest Viewpoint, The Eugene Register-Guard

Cap-and-trade legislation will make it harder for Oregon’s families to make ends meet. Fundamentally, its policy objective is to increase the price of motor fuel, electricity and natural gas for consumers. Under its proposed carbon pricing proposal, a gallon of gas would increase by 16 cents and the average Oregon family will pay between $50 and $125 more per month, depending on where they live. This is not a tax on “polluters;” it’s a tax on consumers.

Oregon doesn’t need California’s “cap and trade” legislation to reduce carbon emissions – Guest Opinion, Statesman Journal

I am dismayed that legislators believe they need to saddle Oregon companies with expensive and onerous legislation that will make it more difficult to operate in the Northwest and deter them from investing in sustainable business practices already underway.

Not right time for Cap and Trade measure – The World

But it has no business being considered in a short session of the Legislature. It’s a significant enough piece of legislation, with enough far-reaching ramifications, that it requires the fuller examination it would receive in the longer legislative sessions held in odd-numbered years.

Oregon business groups blast cap-and-trade bills – Pete Danko, Portland Business Journal

In a statement, Oregon Business & Industry, which bills itself as Oregon’s largest business organization, suggested businesses are already doing plenty, and the state has more pressing matters to deal with.