Oregon House Republicans – except Helt – join Senate in climate battle walkout

Helt lone Republican on hand, much like Knopp; Zika among those absent

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Most Republicans in the Oregon House -- in fact, all but Bend Rep. Cheri Helt -- didn’t show up for Tuesday's session, expanding a GOP protest over a measure that aims to curb global warming.

On Monday, Republicans in the state Senate left the Capitol, rather than debate Senate Bill 1530, the so-called cap-and-trade bill that calls for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least 45% below 1990 emissions levels by 2035 and to at least 80% below by 2050.

The bill would force big greenhouse gas emitters to obtain credits for each metric ton of carbon dioxide they emit.

Opponents say fossil fuel companies will wind up offloading increased costs to customers. Proponents say the measure is needed to begin to confront the devastating effects of climate change.

“Oregon House Republicans are taking a stand, with working families, in opposing cap and trade and this rigged process,” House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said in a statement.

Republican lawmakers said a matter of this magnitude should be brought before voters.

The GOP action was a repeat from last year, when Republicans left to kill similar climate change legislation.

As she did a week earlier, when House Republicans refused to attend an evening floor session, Helt was the only GOP House member in attendance Tuesday, much as Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, was Monday on the Senate side.

Like many in the dispute, Helt issued a statement on her stance:

“I believe in moderate, bipartisan policy making, as do the people I serve in Bend. The current cap and trade plan (SB 1530) isn’t balanced: going too far in raising the cost of living for working families while doing little for our environment. I am a no vote and support letting the people of Oregon decide.

"Sadly, partisan polarization has pushed the Capitol to this moment once again. As a moderate who wants to vote for common ground climate legislation, I will remain in the Capitol in hopes we can dig deeper, try harder and reach further to find a policy that works for all Oregonians," Helt said.

Redmond GOP Rep. Jack Zika joined others in the walkout/boycott, and issued a statement as well:

“I strongly oppose the Cap and Trade bills making their way through the Oregon Legislature. This is a massive tax that will raise the cost of living and doing business in Oregon while siphoning billions of dollars into the control of unelected Salem bureaucrats.

"Because the Democrat majority is so desperate to pass this huge bill in what is supposed to be a short session to handle routine budgetary matters, they cannot even tell us what the total cost impact will be, and they have been forced to change committee rosters to move this controversial bill.

"Rushing a bill of this importance through the legislature raises the likelihood that we will face another costly debacle like the Business Energy Tax Credit and the Cover Oregon website.

"My obligation to my constituents is, first and foremost, to do everything in my power as a legislator to prevent the state government from making it even more expensive to live in Central Oregon. I hear every day from constituents who are struggling to make ends meet. Oregonians pay a high cost of living and receive relatively low wages – Cap and Trade would make both ends of that equation worse.

"That is why I am exercising my procedural right to leave the Capitol unless and until the Democrat majority dismisses Cap and Trade or agrees to refer it to a vote of the people.

"My staff and I will continue our important work on behalf of Central Oregonians to resolve their case work issues, and I will continue to work on my major initiatives to bring down the cost of housing and child care for Central Oregonians.

"I cannot in good conscience allow my presence in the Capitol to be used by Portland legislators to raise the cost of living for people who live in Bend, Redmond, Sunriver and rural Deschutes County. I look forward to returning to the Capitol just as soon as this threat to Central Oregonians’ quality of life and economy has been either dismissed or referred to the voters. Oregonians deserve the final say,” Zika said.

 Rep. Daniel Bonham (R-The Dalles) issued a similar statement:

“The table is tilted, the cards have been marked, and the dice are loaded. Since day one, cap and trade has been rigged to achieve a politically motivated outcome. Republicans have repeatedly come to the table but Democrats have rejected any attempt to have rural concerns addressed. They have said no to every Republican amendment, they have - without a clear explanation - refused to send the measure before voters, and have chosen to advance cap-and-trade without a complete fiscal and revenue analyses.

"Yesterday, lacking the votes to advance SB 1530 out of committee, they again changed the rules to deploy a rarely used procedural maneuver to advance the bill to the Senate floor by any means necessary. Instead of taking a step back and choosing to prioritize the bipartisan budget bills and policy tweaks that would be appropriate for a short session, House Democrats chose to abuse the legislative process further by introducing new measures to rig electoral outcomes favorable to their special interest donors. Oregonians, not the special interests, deserve a voice in this process.

"House Republicans will no longer stand for the repeated abuses of the short session by Governor Kate Brown and the majority party. We have maintained that opportunities for compromise exist, but efforts to achieve consensus have been rejected at every turn. As of today, we have reached an impasse. We support the actions of our Republicans in the Senate and we intend to join them in their protest of the blatant disrespect for the legislative process and the voters of Oregon.

"I am not longer willing to gamble the future of rural Oregon on a rigged process. This isn’t the Oregon way,” Bonham said.