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