Legislative Advocacy: Another Reason to Support CUB on Giving Tuesday

It’s week number two of CUB’s annual Giving Tuesday campaign. Last week, we offered some context for why #GivingTuesday matters and why CUB is proud to participate. Today, we offer a brief preview of the 2020 Oregon legislative session that begins in February, and highlight how your donations go to support CUB’s legislative advocacy in Salem.

CUB is unique among energy and climate policy advocates because of our work on behalf of Oregon utility consumers at the intersection of energy, broadband, and telecommunications policy. CUB’s founding policy statement from 1984 highlights this point and is worth revisiting as we gear up for Giving Tuesday 2019, which is three weeks from now on December 3:

“The people of the State of Oregon hereby find that utility consumers need an effective advocate to assure that public policies affecting the quality and price of utility services reflect their needs and interests, that utility consumers have the right to form an organization which will represent their interests before legislative, administrative and judicial bodies, and that utility consumers need a convenient manner of contributing to the funding of such an organization so that it can advocate forcefully and vigorously on their behalf concerning all matters of public policy affecting their health, welfare and economic well-being.” – Oregon Revised Statute 774.020

It’s because of this policy statement that, for 35 years and counting, CUB has “forcefully and vigorously” advocated for utility consumers “concerning all matters of public policy affecting their health, welfare, and economic well-being.” In the Oregon legislative setting, we have increasingly focused our consumer advocacy on responding to climate change and digital inequality.

Perhaps more than anything, in terms of CUB’s agenda, the 2020 Oregon legislative session represents unfinished business on both these fronts. Two of CUB’s priority bills in 2019, HB 2020 and HB 2184, failed to make their way through the Oregon Senate. HB 2020, the “Clean Energy Jobs” bill, would have capped economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions and established a marketplace to support heavy emitters to meet their annual obligations. HB 2184 would have updated the Oregon Universal Service Fund to bolster fairness in who pays, and established targeted broadband infrastructure and planning grants for rural Oregon communities.

The underlying policy objectives in these bills will make a comeback during the 2020 session. Reportedly, Oregon Democratic leadership continues to work with the Governor’s Office to determine the best legislative path forward to ensure a successful Clean Energy Jobs reprisal. Representative Pam Marsh, the 2019 sponsor of HB 2184, has already announced a return with the Rural Telecommunications Investment Act.

For several months now, CUB has been working hard in preparation to remedy the failure of the 2019 legislative session. Responding to climate change in a meaningful way by reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the entire economy, and remedying digital inequality by targeting investments to the areas of Oregon that lack 21st century broadband infrastructure and planning capacity, will surely improve the “health, welfare, and economic well-being” of Oregon utility consumers. No two policy goals are more timely, worthy, or representative of CUB’s statutory mandate.

There exists no other consumer advocate quite like CUB – one that works on behalf of Oregon utility consumers at the intersection of energy, broadband, and telecommunications policy. This is why support from Oregon utility consumers like you is so valuable on this Giving Tuesday. Whether you’re an active member, unsure of your membership status, or just learning about CUB for the first time, a gift in support of our work is a gift in support of the health, welfare, and economic well-being of Oregon and its utility consumers.

To keep up with CUB, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

• Share this post on Facebook.
• Share this post on LinkedIn.
• Share this post with email.

« Back