Governor Kotek signs major bill package to address climate change, invest in clean energy

In recent years, Oregon has become a national leader in the fight against climate change by passing ambitious policies, including setting goals to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2040, making renewable energy and clean transportation options available and affordable for Oregonians, and more. 

This year, the Oregon legislature has continued to prioritize climate action with the passage of House Bill 3409 and House Bill 3630, collectively known as the “Climate Resilience Package.” House Bill 3409 was signed into law by Governor Kotek on July 27th, and House Bill 3630 was signed into law on August 1st. 

This policy package contains several key policies to help Oregon invest in clean energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation and other strategies to reduce climate pollution. These policies will also help position Oregon to take the most advantage of the opportunities provided through the Inflation Reduction Act and strategically leverage an unprecedented amount of federal funding available for a variety of climate pollution reduction projects and get Oregon even closer to our pollution reduction goals.

Some (but not all) of the policies included in the “Climate Resilience Package” are:

Resilient, Efficient Buildings

• Healthy Heating and Cooling for All (Senate Bill 868) would accelerate heat pump deployment and support energy efficiency programs focused on weatherization and efficiency retrofits;
• Build Smart from the Start (Senate Bill 869) would update Oregon’s base building code so all new buildings are built to be more energy efficient from the start;
• Building Performance Standards (Senate Bill 870) would require large, energy-intensive commercial buildings to adopt a building performance standard to improve efficiency;
• Smart State Buildings (Senate Bill 871) would make it easier for state owned public buildings to be made more energy efficient. 

Medium and Heavy Duty Electric Vehicle Rebate Program ​​(House Bill 2714) – Creates a new rebate program for medium- and heavy-duty zero emission vehicles using federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Solar + Storage Rebate Program Extension (House Bill 3418) – Extends Oregon’s successful Solar + Storage rebate program to continue to help reduce costs, drive installation, and make rooftop solar a possibility for all Oregonians. 

Residential Heat Pump Program Extension (House Bill 3056) – Extends the Oregon Department of Energy’s Residential and Community Heat Pump Deployment Programs to bring heat relief for Oregonians by providing heat pumps at low cost. 

“With the Climate Resilience Package becoming law, Oregon continues to be a national leader in climate action and positions our state to take advantage of the historic opportunity the Inflation Reduction Act provides by bringing hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funds over the next decade to invest in clean energy, clean transportation and other strategies to reduce climate pollution,” said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director of Environment Oregon. “Oregonians from across the state have demanded bold action to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and Oregon leaders have delivered. These new laws will help build a cleaner, greener future for our state, and we want to thank the Oregon legislature and Governor Kotek for their leadership.”

You can read more about the bills included in the Climate Resilience package here and here.