The Oregonian just last week came out with an editorial slamming the decision making of almost all Democrat’s in the legislature for passing what the Oregonian Editorial Board is calling the 2016 legislature’s WORST bill: SB 324. AKA LCFS, AKA Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Read the editorial here.
Just for fun (sarcasm), I pulled up a little personal history of this bill, and in case you weren’t following along in February and March, and want to know how such a terrible decision was made, here you go…
Deep in the midst of the West Coast Port Crisis, this came up in February.
A little stinky, don’t you think?
On February 24th, a Public Hearing was held in the House Energy and Environment Committee. There were so many people testifying in opposition to this, that they had an overflow Public Hearing on February 26th. I, along with many others, was at the Capitol until 7pm on the 24th waiting my turn, and since I was only 30 miles from the Capitol, I came back on the 26th in order to testify. You can read my testimony here. You can also read the testimony from many others – including Farm Bureau members, multiple Chambers of Commerce, family farmers, trucking companies, Oregon Transportation Association, the dairy industry, the construction industry and more. Concerned citizens came from near and far to try and talk sense into deaf ears.
Public Hearing at State Capitol on February 24, 2015
So many concerned people tried their best to fight it! Friends, concerned citizens and legislators alike did their best to get the general public aware of this bad bill. Twitter, Facebook, articles, blogs… These are just a few I grabbed.
After a 5 1/2 hour debate on the House floor on March 4th, the Republican party tried every single idea and speech and opinion out there to try and sway the Dems. It didn’t work and ultimately passed. What a colossal waste of time for all involved and for what? This will do absolutely nothing except support a faction of the “Green” industry that the left-side supports. If you are wondering where your legislator voted, here you go: The Senate vote was party lines EXCEPT Betsy Johnson seeing the light. The House vote was close: 31-29. It was a party line vote, except the following Democrats: Jeff Barker (D-Aloha), Deborah Boone (D-Cannon Beach), Caddy McKeown (D-Coos Bay), and Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie).
Unfortunately we ALL now suffer for 2 reasons: 1) We don’t have a transportation package because the Republicans refuse to move forward on one knowing what the LDFS did (and the Dems need at least 1 Republican… sidenote – it should make you think a lot if you can’t even get ONE Republican to agree with you…) and 2) our fuel prices are going to raise for absolutely no reason other than support for “clean fuels”. And according to this article, the “supporters of the state’s low-carbon fuel standard acknowledge Oregon might never meet its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 10 percent.” SMH. (And for those of you that aren’t teenage parents, that’s text-talk for Shaking My Head).
Summary: our fuel prices will go up for no reason.
Unfortunately, Governor Kate Brown signed the bill into law on March 12th, 2015.
So where are we now? Governor Kate Brown seemingly has “seen the light” and is in talks with leadership from both sides. Per the Oregonian Editorial Board: “Assuming the minority party is willing to wheel and deal, it should insist upon a couple of things: If Democrats want to subsidize low-carbon fuels, they should do so transparently and without using motor fuels as the vehicle. The low-carbon fuel standard is nothing more than a scheme for shifting money from those who buy gasoline and diesel fuel to those who produce low-carbon fuels. It’s politically useful, if somewhat dishonest, because it allows policymakers to pretend they’re not doing what they are, in effect, doing: levying a tax and using it to subsidize a favored industry. If policymakers want to pump public dollars into low-carbon fuels, they ought to do so explicitly – and prepare to explain to their constituents why the money is better spent on electric charging stations than, say, schools or state troopers.”
So, there’s a little “then and now.” It certainly makes you wonder what the future holds when it comes to this bad bill turned law. If it smelled bad when it started, then it’s a steaming pile of BS now.
daughter of a trucker 