On Monday, March 6th the House Health Care Committee held a public meeting on HB 2386 and HB 2465, the two secure medicine take back bills. There were several groups that testified in favor of the bill including AOC, the League of Oregon Cities, Lines for Life, and Keizer Police Chief Teague. The committee seemed to be receptive to the concept but it is clear there is still work to be done to get the details right. AOC staff has appreciated the leadership of Representative Malstrom for pulling together stakeholder workgroups.
During the week of March 6th the Subcommittee on Natural Resources of the Ways and Means Committee have been hearing information regarding HB 5518, DEQ’s budget. The public hearing for DEQ’s budget will be held March 13th. Next up for the Natural Resources Subcommittee is the Oregon Department of Energy Budget.
On March 7th the House and Senate Energy and Environment Committees held a joint meeting to discuss the concept of carbon pricing. The meeting included an overview of the Risky Business Report and Oregon’s research into the concept. On Monday, March 13th the EELU committee will be receiving an update from DEQ representatives on what research is being done to research the concept.
On Monday, March 13th HB 3032 will receive a public hearing. HB 3032 fixes a technical problem that has made it impossible for entities without a tax liability to transfer a tax credit. There are a couple of counties impacted by this problem. On Tuesday, March 14th two of the housing bills that AOC have introduced will have a public hearing. HB 2937 and HB 2938 deal with accessory dwelling units and RVs on rural lands.
Contributed by: Mark Nystrom | AOC Energy, Environment & Land Use Policy Manager