Update:
1000 Friends of Oregon and the Oregon Environmental Council released a joint statement praising the bill.
Mary Kyle McCurdy, 1000 Friends of Oregon Policy Director says, “This victory will help create healthier, sustainable communities across Oregon. And it’s a major step for giving Oregonians better transportation choices.”
“SB 1059 is a win-win for cities and towns across Oregon,” says Chris Hagerbaumer, Deputy Director of the Oregon Environmental Council. “The bill will help create the tools and resources local governments need to make cost effective decisions on planning future growth while also improving air quality and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Cities and towns of all sizes will be able to use the tools that the agencies develop.”
The bill doesn’t just set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in metro areas, but according to the statement also…
- Directs state agencies to develop a statewide transportation strategy on greenhouse gases.
- To craft a toolkit to assist local governments and metro areas in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
- To develop guidelines for scenario planning – used by communities across the country to consider alternative choices of land use patterns and transportation options to reduce emissions.
- To work with the Oregon University System to educate the public about the costs and benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Report back to the 2011 Legislature with an estimate of how much it will cost local governments to prepare and select a land use and transportation scenario that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and potential sources of funding.
- And then report back to the 2013 Legislative Assembly with an assessment of how the agencies are doing on these tasks.
SB 1059 is based on recommendations from 2009 Metropolitan Planning Organization Greenhouse Gas Emissions Task Force.
Earlier:
Within the past half hour, the Oregon Senate approved a bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
The vote was 17 to 13. It now goes to the House for a vote, possibly as soon as tomorrow.
SB 1059 calls for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in five of the state’s metro areas including; Eugene-Springfield, Salem-Keizer, Medford, Corvallis and Bend. Supporters hope it will lead to these area’s expanding their mass transit systems and finding ways to control sprawl. The Portland metro area is covered by another law regulating greenhouse gases.
This is the second big win of the session for Oregon’s environmental community and my Twitter and Facebook accounts are going a little crazy with messages. That’s not a complaint, by the way.
The other important victory of the session is a ten-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along Oregon’s coastline. That bill has passed both houses and will likely be signed by Governor Kulongoski, if he hasn’t signed it already.
Another priority bill for the session, a ban on bisphenol A, lost momentum when it hit the Senate floor. A 15-15 tie vote killed the legislation and attempts to revive it through the House Rules Committee failed.
The Oregon Environmental Council has a webpage explaining more about how SB 1059 works.
See: SB 1059: Creating Climate-Friendly Communities
