House Climate, Energy and Environment committee advances wildfire funding, waste and energy bills

SALEM, Ore. — The House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee met Tuesday, April 8, and advanced a broad slate of measures on wildfire funding, solid-waste planning, energy siting and consumer programs.

The committee adopted the dash 1 amendment to House Bill 3940, which clarifies deposit accounts and other technical provisions related to wildfire costs, and moved the bill to the House Committee on Revenue without recommendation. Members stressed that revenue questions remain for the Revenue Committee and that separate Senate measures address lottery and kicker options. Representative Lively opened the session noting the committee would not resolve all related revenue policy, and members debated using the state’s beverage container (“bottle”) bill as a revenue source; several lawmakers registered formal objections to any changes to that program.

Why it matters: Lawmakers said they want wildfire response funded this session while preserving existing programs. The committee’s actions send policy language on funding and structure onward for the revenue committee to consider specific tax or fee sources.

The meeting also advanced a package of related and unrelated measures. Lawmakers voted to send bills or adopt amendments on municipal solid-waste planning for the Willamette Valley (House Bill 3794), a small modular reactor demonstration referral and ballot referral process for Umatilla County (House Bill 2410, dash 2), a battery producer responsibility program (House Bill 2062), revisions to the state’s electric-vehicle rebate program (House Bill 3597, dash 1, referred to transportation then ways and means), and several studies and regulatory tasks for the Oregon Department of Energy and Public Utility Commission (including HB 3868, HB 3081, HB 2038, HB 3539, HB 3653, HB 3609 and HB 2065). The committee also approved narrower, nonreferral bills including limits on crematory…