Re: HB2186: Write Now!!!....Right now (please)

MOVED TO TOP
AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY writes: HB 2186, pending before the Oregon Legislature, is a dangerous bill! HB 2186 will be considered on the floor of the House next Tuesday, and we need you to respond immediately to send your Legislators a message that they need to vote against this legislation. This bill is an effort to sneak global warming restrictions through in the guise of expanded State Agency powers.

HB 2186 would grant the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality broad but poorly defined powers to regulate greenhouse gasses within our economy. It provides DEQ with a virtual "blank check" to implement any new regulations the Agency deems necessary to reduce CO2. Studies have shown that an effort to limit CO2 emissions in Oregon will cost our state almost 100,000 jobs - at a time when our state has the second highest unemployment rate in the nation. DEQ would be able to ban - without public input - any product it deemed "contains too much carbon."

The DEQ has expressed interest in adopting the greenhouse gas regulations currently in force in California. Coupled with the bill's mandate of a 10 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020, the most likely response is a mandate to increase the use of ethanol fuel which presents a fire hazard, causes lower vehicle performance and can cause damage to vehicles. In addition, the bill allows DEQ to adopt "green tire" standards for passenger cars that would increase tire costs and limit consumer tire choice. All these costs will be passed along to Oregon vehicle owners.

In addition, DEQ is considering requiring expensive retrofits for the entire Oregon private medium- and heavy-duty trucking fleet to reduce aerodynamic drag. Since Oregon has so few manufacturing facilities due to the high cost of doing business and the government's hostility to business, most products must be brought into our state by truck or rail. The retrofit cost estimates for the fleet run as high as $4.5 billion - a price that will be passed along to Oregon consumers. The bill also allows DEQ to restrict truck and ship idling - in California this means shutting off your engine when idling for more than five minutes at any location.

HB 2186 is a bad bill that will cost Oregon jobs and our economy billions of dollars. Efforts to fight global warming at the state and federal levels are just an excuse to raise our taxes and make us pay more to heat our homes, drive our cars and buy the products we use every single day. I urge you to add your voice to those opposing HB 2186.

Yours In Freedom,

Jeff Kropf, State Director
Americans for Prosperity – Oregon