2003 ENVIRONMENTAL SCORECARD FOR THE OREGON LEGISLATURE OREGON LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS HONOR ROLL: DISHONOR ROLL: 100% RATED LEGISLATORS 0% RATED LEGISLATORS ON THE ENVIRONMENT ON THE ENVIRONMENT Senator Richard Devlin Senator Roger Beyer Representative Betsy Close (D-Tualatin) (R-Molalla) (R-Albany) Senator Avel Gordly Senator Ted Ferrioli Representative Bob Jenson (D-Portland) (R-John Day) (R-Pendleton) Senator Vicki Walker Senator Bill Fisher Representative Wayne Kreiger (D-Eugene) (R-Roseburg) (R-Gold Beach) Senator Steve Harper Representative Dennis Richardson Representative Jackie Dingfelder (R-Klamath Falls) (R-Central Point) (D-Portland) Senator Ken Messerle Representative Greg Smith Representative Steve March (R-Coos Bay) (R-Heppner) (D-Portland) Senator John Minnis Representative Tootie Smith Representative Jeff Merkley (R-Fairview) (R-Molalla) (D-Portland) Senator Frank Morse Representative Floyd Prozanski (R-Albany) (D-Eugene) Senator David Nelson Representative Diane Rosenbaum (R-Pendleton) (D-Portland) Senator Jackie Winters Representative Carolyn Tomei (R-Salem) (D-Milwaukie) Senator Ben Westlund (R-Bend) You Didn’t Vote for More Sprawl and Pollution. DID YOUR LEGISLATORS? www.olcv.org KNOW THE SCORE A MESSAGE FROM OLCV’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS By using this Scorecard, you’ve taken the first AND POLITICAL COMMITTEE step towards protecting Oregon’s environment: Knowing the Score. STEPHEN KAFOURY CO-CHAIR Did your representative vote to defend your right to know about pesticides threatening our waterways AUDREY SIMMONS or to give more tax breaks to polluters? Did your CO-CHAIR senator vote to make it easier for developers to pave DOUG MYERS over farmland? TREASURER For more than a decade now, a majority of our NORMA GRIER Legislators have sided with polluters and developers, threatening the legacy SECRETARY we are leaving our children. MATT BLEVINS The only hope for change is an engaged “green majority” of citizens who MARDEL CHINBURG are willing to hold their elected officials accountable for their votes on the JEFF GOLDEN environment. WALT GORMAN STEPHEN GRIFFITH This Scorecard provides you two tools to do this. CHARLIE HALES At the detailed level, it allows you to learn how your legislators voted on FRED HEUTTE more than two-dozen specific, high-profile environmental bills. GAYLE KILLAM ERIC LEMELSON At the general level, it allows you to learn their overall score — SCOTT PRATT the percentage of time they voted pro-environment on key bills. CLIFF TROW “Knowing the Score” is just the first step. Citizens who care about Oregon’s RANDY TUCKER environment need to follow it up with action. If your legislators did well, write to them and thank them. If they did OLCV STAFF poorly, write to express your concern. Contact information is included in the back of this booklet. TRISH BOWCOCK JACKSON CO. ORGANIZER Join or volunteer with the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, the political voice of Oregon’s environmental movement. You can donate or AMY CARLSON volunteer by filling out the form in the back of this Scorecard or by PROGRAM AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR checking out our web page, www.olcv.org. KATY DAILY Take action with your vote by supporting pro-environment candidates at FIELD DIRECTOR the local, state, and federal level. KALEN GARR Oregon’s legacy as an environmental leader is at risk. Now, more than ever, OFFICE MANAGER citizens need to talk to friends and neighbors about the threats we face. JED JORGENSEN Now, more than ever, we need to elect leaders who will take seriously our POLITICAL DIRECTOR responsibility to future generations. ANNE PERNICK FIELD ORGANIZER KRISTIE PERRY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR JONATHAN POISNER Jonathan Poisner EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Executive Director 2003 ENVIRONMENTAL SCORECARD FOR THE OREGON LEGISLATURE 3 OVERVIEW OF THE 2003 SESSION: A TALE OF TWO CHAMBERS he longest legislative session 810-square-mile Tillamook and effectively stopped these anti- in Oregon’s history left the Clatsop State Forests. The current environment bills from ever being T environment battered, but plan for these forests already calls voted on, there is no objective way not broken. for clearcutting the vast majority of to factor their leadership into the Like the last five legislative sessions, it over time. Not content with this vote chart or their scores. most of the conversation was about speed of the cutting, the timber- However, in some cases, these how to weaken Oregon’s environmental industry-sponsored bill would have Senators made the wrong call: voting safeguards, not how to improve them. doubled the amount of logging in “yes” on bills that threatened clean Repeatedly, the House passed bills these forests. At risk: wildlife habitat water, farmland, and wildlife, among that would have weakened safeguards and the drinking water source of other things. protecting Oregon’s land, air, water, tens of thousands of Oregonians. and wildlife. Fortunately, most of THE FINAL RESULTS Despite the budget crisis, the House those bills were killed in Senate The one significant positive outcome Committees. voted to put more tax dollars into the hands of major polluters. They voted of this session was a new law that will The 2003 Scorecard includes 26 encourage less driving by offering House votes – nearly a record – and to expand and extend the pollution control tax credit – a credit that incentives to create automobile just 9 Senate votes. Only one of the insurance based on mileage. bills scored is a pro-environment bill. effectively pays polluters to comply with clean air and water laws. Unfortunately, there were consid- erably more negative outcomes. THE HOUSE: IT WAS Some lowlights: THE WORST OF TIMES After a decade of The Governor signed a budget Oregon’s 2003 House leadership for the Department of Fish and promoted an extreme anti- retreat from Oregon’s Wildlife (ODFW) that used voter- environment agenda. approved funds for salmon habitat Major themes emerging from the legacy of environmental restoration to instead construct a 2003 House of Representatives: leadership, Oregonians hatchery research center. The The House passed more than a can’t afford any more budget also eliminated the ODFW dozen separate bills that weakened Habitat Division. protections for Oregon’s farm and legislative failures to The Legislature failed to fund the forest land, while enhancing the protect our water, air, state’s landmark Pesticide Use power of developers and the Reporting System (PURS), which mining industry. These bills would land, and wildlife. was adopted nearly unanimously by have led to uncontrolled sprawl. the 1999 Legislature. PURS would More than one-third of all votes protect public health and water included in this Scorecard are land THE SENATE: BETTER THAN quality by tracking where pesticides use bills. THE WORST OF TIMES are entering our waterways. Four years after passage, the program Wildlife and salmon were in the Credit for stopping the onslaught of has not received funding to be crosshairs of the House. The anti-environment legislation that implemented, so our right to House passed numerous anti- passed the House goes primarily to know about pesticide use has wildlife bills, voting to weaken Senate President Peter Courtney and been effectively gutted. the state’s Endangered Species Act, four Senators serving on the Water threaten wild salmon, and relax & Land Use and the Agriculture While the state saved just $565,000 wetland protections. & Natural Resources Committees: by failing to fund the pesticide Oregon’s state forests were also Charlie Ringo, Frank Shields, Rick right-to-know program, it allocated subject to serious attack. The Metsger, and Tony Corcoran. up to $3 million per year by House voted twice to make logging These Senators did Oregon’s envi- including a provision in its trans- the number one priority in the ronment a great service. Because they portation package to subsidize 4 OREGON LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS certain diesel trucks for merely environment bills in the House and few Republicans were willing to buck obeying clean air standards. the Senate. By threatening to veto their party leaders and vote pro- some key anti-land use bills that had environment. Of 50 Republican For the fifth straight session, the passed the House, for example, he legislators, just two, Sen. Len Hannon Legislature failed to clean up helped blunt the attack on land use in and Rep. Lane Shetterly, scored Oregon’s waterways. A bill that the Senate. He ultimately signed the better than 40%. In contrast, of 40 purports to clean up the Portland one pro-environment bill that passed, Democratic legislators, only six Harbor Superfund site passed, but and vetoed one anti-environment bill scored worse than 60%. doesn’t actually mandate any in the Scorecard. cleanup, just a new process. Yet, it Unfortunately, Governor LEGISLATURE OUT OF STEP does contain a provision backed by Kulongoski signed into law, or WITH OREGONIANS major polluters that will likely lead allowed to become law without After a decade of retreat from to the state paying for a portion of his signature, five of the six anti- the cleanup that polluters are Oregon’s legacy of environmental environment bills that reached his leadership, Oregonians can’t afford responsible for under federal law. desk. The Legislature was wrong to weak- any more legislative failures to protect our water, air, land, and wildlife. en the principle that polluters pay OVERALL FAILING SCORE to clean up the messes they create. It is clear that voters must elect Bottom line, the 2003 Legislature gets more legislators committed to GOVERNOR KULONGOSKI: a failing score. The overall average environmental stewardship before A TALE OF TWO TEDS score for both chambers was a dismal we can pass significant reforms to 39%, down from 45% in 2001 and improve our quality of life. Governor Ted Kulongoski has earned 41% in 1999. both criticism and praise for his work The Legislature continues to WHO REPRESENTS YOU with the 2003 Legislature.