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A public hearing on Senate
Bill 324, the adoption of an Oregon low carbon fuel standard,
was scheduled for the very first day of the 2015 Legislative Assembly. The
timing of the hearing appears to signal that the majority party simply cannot
wait to test its newfound supermajority voting muscle.
LCFS was first enacted by a Democrat supermajority
in 2009 through the passage of HB
2186. That bill passed without a single Republican vote in either the House
or Senate, and was also opposed by some Democrats in those chambers.
HB 2186 granted broad authority to the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions
and evaluate similar programs being done by the federal Environmental Protection
Agency and the states of California and Washington. It also defined the term “low
carbon fuel standards” and allowed DEQ to adopt, by rule, standards for
gasoline, diesel and fuels that could be used as substitutes for them. Those
standards are also applied to greenhouse gas emissions that could be attributed
to fuels throughout their lifecycle, including their production, storage and
transportation.
The law required that its provisions expire, or
sunset, at the end of 2015. No fewer than three bills, SB
488, HB
2237 and HB
2791, were introduced during the 2013 regular sessions to extend the sunset.
All three failed to pass.
The alleged purpose of the low carbon fuel standard
is to reduce the “carbon intensity” of fossil fuels. Once implemented, the
standard would maximize the blending of so-called lower intensity alternative
fuels into standard gasoline and diesel. Producers of ethanol, biodiesel and
other biofuels will be given “carbon intensity credits” for their production of
“renewable” energy products. Conventional suppliers of gasoline and diesel will
be forced to purchase these “carbon intensity credits” to “mitigate” their
carbon dioxide emissions.
One fact is abundantly clear regardless of stated
intentions by supporters of the bill: Everyone that purchases gasoline and
diesel fuel will ultimately be required to pay the increased costs resulting
from the purchase of those credits.
DEQ estimates that applying the low carbon fuel
standard’s artificial cost enhancements to fossil fuels will increase the price
of gasoline by about 19 cents per gallon at the pump. However, consumer user
groups are estimating the cost of compliance with the low carbon fuel standard to
be much closer to $1 per gallon of fuel.
The hidden fuel tax would be rolled seamlessly into
the price at the pump, because under the current provisions of the bill, no
notification of the covert tax is required to be provided to consumers. Most
Oregonians won’t even realize that they are paying an extra $2 to $20 to fill
up their gas tanks.
In a recent article, the Oregonian editorial board stated:
“What has always been misguided policy, driven by
misrepresentation from the governor’s office on down, now carries a depressingly
familiar stink…the low-carbon-fuel standard is opaque and costly…it is a
roundabout way of taxing gasoline and diesel fuels to subsidize alternative
road fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, and other biofuels.”
It is no surprise that the producers of these
alternative fuels are among the strongest supporters of the low carbon fuel
standard. They will also receive virtually all the direct financial benefit
from the hidden fuel tax.
Governor Kitzhaber and his supporters continue to
claim that the low carbon fuel standard will SAVE Oregonians up to $1.6 billion
over the next ten years. The Oregonian
editorial board also pointed out that the governor “conveniently failed to
mention” that achieving such savings would require spending an equal $1.6
billion on alternative fuel powered vehicles. His selective use of data belies
the fact that the same article that reports the potential $1.6 billion in
savings also prominently states that the savings is dependent upon the expenditure
of $1.6 billion for alternative fuel vehicles.
I have to categorically agree with the editorial
board’s opinion that “opacity sold by half-truths is cause for alarm.”
At the end of the day, the low carbon fuel standard
is not really about saving the planet. Oregonians comprise only about five ten
thousandths (0.0005) of the global populace and only 1.3 percent of the
population of the United States. Even the complete elimination of ALL Oregon
greenhouse gas emissions would not result in a measurable difference in global
emissions.
The low carbon fuel standard proposed under SB 324
is not about social justice, either. Families living at or near poverty levels
spend the highest percentage of their income for energy. In fact, Oregon’s
poorest families will suffer the greatest harm by forcing artificial and
unaffordable increases in energy prices upon them.
The low carbon fuel standard represents little more
than a political scheme to social-engineer huge subsidies for alternative fuel
suppliers. Not surprisingly, many of those fuel suppliers provide enormous
political contributions to compliant politicians.
The low carbon fuel standard is a political partisan
issue. I do not expect a single Republican to vote to enact the standard. The
only way it can be created is by a party-line Democrat majority vote.
Oregonians concerned about this misguided policy
would be wise to contact their state representatives and senators and urge them
to oppose SB 324. The outcome of this legislative session will depend largely
upon participation from the public. That’s especially important, as an
emergency clause currently attached to the bill would make it effective immediately
upon passage and prevent citizens from being able to challenge and repeal the
law through the referendum process.
People need to make their voices heard; otherwise,
we may end up with laws like SB 324 that will ultimately undermine the
prosperity and well-being of working people throughout the state.
Please remember--If we do not stand up for rural Oregon, no one will.
Best Regards,
Doug
Senate District 28
Email: Sen.DougWhitsett@state.or.us I Phone: 503-986-1728
Address: 900 Court St NE, S-311, Salem, OR, 97301
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/whitsett
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