STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Businesses voice support for cap and trade
By Claire Withycombe
Oregon Capital Bureau
As Oregon lawmak-
ers prepare to meet for the
month-long session that
starts next week, Democrats’
effort to limit greenhouse
gas emissions is getting a
public nudge from business.
Twenty-one companies
and two health care cli-
mate alliances in Washing-
ton and California authored
a letter Jan. 29 to “leadership
and legislators of the Pacific
Coast,” urging them adopt
cap and trade programs,
which they argue can pro-
mote economic growth.
Among signatories: Nike,
the Beaverton-based sports-
wear behemoth and one of
the state’s largest compa-
nies. Nike supported similar
legislation last year.
Several other major com-
panies, including Micro-
soft, Unilever and Uber,
also signed the letter, which
was organized by Ceres,
a Boston-based nonprofit
that aims to make busi-
nesses more environmen-
tally sound.
Despite continued sup-
port from one of Oregon’s
highest-profile businesses,
the proposal faces the unpre-
dictable nature of Oregon
environmental politics.
Republicans in the Senate
protested a similar proposal
last year by leaving the state.
Senate Republican Leader
Herman Baertschiger Jr.,
Grants Pass, won’t rule out
boycotting the Legislature
again to avoid voting on the
proposal.
The companies that
signed the Jan. 29 letter say
they support West Coast
states implementing a cap
on emissions and creating
a system of allowances that
are, simply put, permits to
emit a certain amount of
greenhouse gases.
California’s cap and trade
system has been up and run-
ning since 2013. Neither
Oregon nor Washington
has one, but each is consid-
ering legislation to imple-
ment cap and trade pro-
grams. Each state could link
to the Western Climate Ini-
tiative, a market for allow-
ances that includes Quebec
and California.
Under a cap and trade
program, allowances to pol-
luters decline over time to
meet emissions reduction
targets. Businesses can buy
or sell allowances on the
market if they plan to emit
more or less than they are
allotted.
“From agriculture, sea-
food and forestry to technol-
ogy and advanced manufac-
turing, our region is built on a
diverse set of industries,” the
group of businesses wrote.
“Carbon markets will expand
economic opportunity in our
region and spur innovation
while protecting these sec-
tors from climate impacts.”
The companies wrote that
“cap and invest” initiatives
Come help
Jimmy celebrate
his 80th on
Saturday
February 8th,
2020 at the
Teen Center
Prairie City
from 1 P.M.
to 4 P.M.
Look who
will be
80!
S168934-1
Heritage Hill Farm
Beautiful flowers for all occasions
2-DAY GRAND
OPENING SPECIALS!
Thurs. & Fri., Feb. 13th & 14th, 10am–6pm
have “proven to be highly
effective in reducing (green-
house gas) emissions, while
fostering economic growth
and spurring innovation.”
They wrote that market
mechanisms help ensure that
companies can reduce emis-
sions more cheaply.
“This drives innovation
and attracts investments that
support the commercializa-
tion of low-carbon technol-
ogies, innovative practices
to sequester carbon, and new
jobs,” they wrote.
Vince Digneo, a sustain-
ability strategist at the soft-
ware company Adobe, one of
the companies that signed the
letter, said in a written state-
ment that a policy “must be
well designed.”
“We see cap-and-invest as
a way to reduce emissions,
to enable new, low-carbon
technologies to be developed
and deployed, and to gener-
ate funds that will grow jobs
and economies,” said Dig-
neo. “Proposals like this help
bring affordable renewable
energy not only to Adobe’s
facilities in these regions,
but also to the communities
where our employees work
and live, helping ensure that
both businesses and people
thrive in the long run.”
The letter, though, is
merely one chord in what
has proven to be a sonata
of opinions on the proposal
from private business, some
fearing increased costs due
to a program that penalizes
emissions. Republicans say
they are concerned that those
costs could get passed on to
consumers, particularly in
rural areas of the state where
per capita income is typically
lower.
Last year, a group of busi-
nesses calling itself Oregon
Business for Climate sup-
ported the proposal. That
coalition included symbol-
ically Oregon brands like
Deschutes Brewery. But sev-
eral businesses, including
Deschutes, pulled out of the
group after the bill became
controversial in the wake of
Republicans’ boycott.
PERS reforms face
delay, tight timelines
By Claire Withycombe
Oregon Capital Bureau
Public workers who
expected to contribute more
to their savings in July to
make up for cuts to retire-
ment benefits will have to
wait until September.
The agency that pays out
billions in retirement bene-
fits to Oregon public work-
ers is delaying a new pro-
gram designed to allow
employees to try to counter-
balance recent benefit cuts
by the Legislature.
Last year, lawmakers
changed Oregon’s costly
pension system, which is
facing about $27 billion
in debt. Legislative bud-
get analysts expected the
changes to save public
employers $1.2 to $1.8 bil-
lion in pension costs every
two years, starting in 2021.
The Oregon Public
Employee Retirement Sys-
tem, known as PERS, is a
hybrid. There’s a basic pen-
sion and a 401(k)-style sav-
ings account on top.
One revision re-routed a
slice of employees’ salary
that previously went to the
savings account to help pay
for the pension instead.
Employees will con-
tribute the same amount of
money to their retirement,
but a greater portion will
go to fund pensions. As a
result, employees say they
will end up with less money
when they retire.
The new law included a
provision where employees
could choose to send some
more money to the savings
account to make up for the
decrease.
“If they’re going to
delay the implementation
of the part that would allow
members to spend their
own money to keep their
retirement whole,” says Joe
Baessler, associate director
of AFSCME Council 75, a
union representing mostly
public workers, “they prob-
ably should also suspend
the diversion, at least until
they can figure all this stuff
out.”
Delaying the new sav-
ings option was neces-
sary, PERS Director Kevin
Olineck said in a phone
interview Thursday.
The agency will let
workers make additional
payments to equal what
they would have put in
had the program started as
scheduled.
“The members will be
kept whole,” Olineck said.
The delay in the savings
account’s start is one sig-
nal that the reforms in Sen-
ate Bill 1049 appear to be
stretching the agency’s abil-
ities. State workers have
spent 17,200 hours over six
months, through Decem-
ber, putting the changes
into place, according to
PERS records. More than
150 employees have been
involved “to some degree”
in helping to make the
changes, according to PERS.
“When you have to ramp
up to put into place a proj-
ect of this magnitude, you
have to take people off their
day-to-day jobs and move
them over to project work,”
Olineck said. “That results
in them not being able to
support their coworkers
or they’re taking off doing
their regular operational
work.”
The Legislature allotted
about $39 million to incor-
porate the PERS reforms.
But Olineck expects the
project will cost an addi-
tional $1.7 million, accord-
ing to a Jan. 17 letter he sent
to key legislators who lead
committees on budget and
information technology.
The project requires
more office space and
money to pay workers
from the Department of
Administrative Services
and Department of Jus-
tice, Olineck said, and
more money to “support
program management and
project execution.”
Sweetheart Shoot
Saturday, February 15, 2020
at
tre
e
R
e
es ckag
i
v
i
Sil a Pa 2
Sp for
Do not need to be a shooter
to come have lunch and bid
on some of the great themed
baskets something
for everyone.
Hand-tied mixed
flower bouquets
with bow
starting at
$25.95
1 dozen roses
arrangement in
vase with bow
$59.95
•
•
•
•
Multi-colored or same color – your choice
Single rose in bud vase w/bow: $9.95
A great selection of flowers and balloons
Gift certificates available too! Cash, local
checks, credit and debit cards accepted.
• Order early!
Come and sign-up to win a FREE fresh floral
arrangement in the daily drawings!
Call or text 541-620-1558
www.heritagehillfarmflowers.com
Cindy Wimer, Certified Florist
S168433-1
Come Support
Grant County
Search & Rescue
The
me
d
Ou baske
t
d
ts
Sw
eeth oor
Wo ear ts
me
Me ns
ns
Sweetheart Clay Pigeon Shoot
Kimberly Rock Products
2/15/20 @ 11am
Assorted Dessert Auction
Special Lunch & Prizes
For more information call
541 934-2143 or 541 620-2104
S166857-1
A6