ALEC, the corrupt faux-nonprofit that has its claws and strings into far too many Oregon legislators, vomited up this hideous bill designed to turn all Oregon into West Virginia and Mississippi, play pens for the rich and thuggish who don't like the idea of being constrained by pesky regard for future generations and who don't want to be held accountable for destroying the things that make Oregon so treasured.
Briefly, SB 1548 [and HB 4153] overrides state and local land use laws and potentially every environmental and safety law related to construction and operation of industrial facilities. The bill allows any city or county with 7% or higher unemployment for 12 consecutive months to site "industrial, manufacturing, or natural resource facilities" without regard to state or local land use laws. These uses are defined in the bill to include "power generating facilities and mines, used to treat, process or manufacture materials into products" among other things. The bill has no criteria limiting the siting. Once the siting is approved by the city or county, all state agencies and local governments must issue all permits, licenses, and certificates and enter into intergovernmental agreements necessary for the "construction and operation" of the facility.
Hi all-
One of the most over-reaching bills we have seen in a long time is SB 1548, currently scheduled for a hearing and possible work session on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 3:00, in the Senate Rural Communities & Economic Development Committee. The link to the bill is: https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2014R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1548
I have attached a detailed summary of the bill. Briefly, SB 1548 overrides state and local land use laws and potentially every environmental and safety law related to construction and operation of industrial facilities. The bill allows any city or county with 7% or higher unemployment for 12 consecutive months to site "industrial, manufacturing, or natural resource facilities" without regard to state or local land use laws. These uses are defined in the bill to include "power generating facilities and mines, used to treat, process or manufacture materials into products" among other things. The bill has no criteria limiting the siting. Once the siting is approved by the city or county, all state agencies and local governments must issue all permits, licenses, and certificates and enter into intergovernmental agreements necessary for the "construction and operation" of the facility.In addition, this bill provides that a review of any siting decision is by the circuit courts, not LUBA, where it gets priority over all other circuit court proceedings; it requires ODOT to prioritize transportation funding to serve these sites; and it allows employers in a city or county of high unemployment to get a tax credit for creating new full time jobs.1000 Friends of Oregon opposes SB 1548, and the Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) has declared it a "Major Threat" (along with its companion bill in the House, HB 4153)
Please call and/or e-mail the members of the Senate Rural Communities & Economic Development Committee to express your opposition. The Committee members are:
Mary Kyle McCurdy
Policy Director
1000 Friends of Oregon
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