Below is a letter that was sent on behalf of the Tillamook Chamber Board of Directors to the members of the Joint Committee on Ways & Means in opposition to SB 1530:
RE: Opposition to SB 1530 with amendment comments
Dear Honorable Members of the Joint Committee on Ways & Means,
On behalf of the Tillamook Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, I wish to express our opposition to SB 1530. If passed, SB 1530 will have significant adverse impacts not just on our local businesses, but families in Tillamook County.
In addition to the opposition to SB 1530 in its entirety, we wish to specifically address proposed amendments to SB 1530 and political posturing currently before the legislature. The Tillamook Chamber:
• Supports amendment A52, which removes the emergency clause from the bill.
• Supports amendment A43, which refers the entire bill to the people for a vote.
• Opposes amendment A41, which removes the ability for utility companies to pass through rate increases to citizens to offset the cost of Cap and Trade projects.
• Opposes amendment A 51, which is the fiscal allocation of an estimated $20 million to SB 1530.
• Additionally, the Tillamook Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is strongly opposed to any changes to the sitting members of the Joint Committee on Ways & Means during this session. Any changes of committee positions at this point in the session is clearly be identified as a deliberate attempt to rig votes and, while legal, will be viewed as highly unethical.
I plead to your integrity and respectfully request you support local businesses and the citizens in our state and oppose SB 1530. Oregonians, particularly, those of us in rural Oregon, cannot afford to bear the burden of this legislation. Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully Submitted,
Natalie Rieger
Board President