Local county leaders join others to oppose new cap and trade bill

SALEM, Ore. – The controversial climate bill known as cap and trade is still being debated in Salem.

But now, leaders from 23 counties across Oregon are making it known to legislators they’re against Senate Bill 1530. And the idea to unify the counties started in Jackson County.

Jackson County commissioners say they didn’t want to wait and see if Republican senators would walk out on this year’s cap and trade bill after they did so last year. So, they thought, why not see if other counties felt as strongly as they did?

County Commissioner Colleen Roberts said it started with an email they sent out a week ago. The email asked other counties if they wanted to take a unified stance against this year’s cap and trade bill.

Cap and trade is a term used for capping the amount of carbon companies can release into the air. If companies stay under the cap, they can trade their leftover emissions allowance to others.

Democrats are hoping some changes made to the bill will gather more Republican support but that hasn’t been the case so far in Salem this month.

After Jackson County sent the email, she says they got 23 responses from counties against the bill. That’s out of the 36 counties in Oregon.

Roberts said the proclamations were being read on the Senate floor Thursday night as lawmakers continue to deliberate on the bill.

According to Partnership for Oregon Communities, commissioners in the following counties are working on adopting resolutions to oppose SB1530: Baker, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Grant, Harney, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Linn, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Polk, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, and Yamhill.