Environmental Scorecard Shows Some Legislators are moving in the Right Direction

OLCV says the legislators' good decisions are helping to protect Oregon’s air, water and farmland.

Oregon's legislature scores some good marks with an environmental watchdog group Photo by: Kevin Hays

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The 2007 Oregon Legislature received its highest scores since 1977 for an outstanding environmental voting performance, in part due to an improvement from Legislators representing Marion County, according to the 2007 Environmental Scorecard for the Oregon Legislature released by the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV) today.

“For the first time in more than a decade, Oregon’s Legislature carried out the public’s desire to protect our air, water and special places that make Oregon a great place to live and raise families. The Legislature showed that with strong, responsible leadership, the state can take steps to promote a better environmental legacy for our kids,” said Jonathan Poisner, Executive Director of OLCV.

Senator Peter Courtney earned OLCV’s “Environmental Bulldog of the Year” award for his outstanding environmental leadership. As Senate President, Courtney helped move a record number of environmental bills through the Legislature. He earned his highest environmental rating (89%) to date and the second best environmental record among all Legislators in Marion County.

The 2007 Legislature and Governor enacted sweeping safeguards that will improve the lives of Oregon families for generations, reaching three major mile stones:

* More positive pro-environment bills became law in 2007 than in the period from 1991-2005 combined.

* The average scores in both the House and Senate climbed to heights not seen since 1977. The average Senate score was 73% and the House was 69%.

* The jump up in scores from 2005 to 2007 was the largest average increase from one session to the next since OLCV started keeping score in 1973.

Several Marion County Representatives made great strides in doing what’s right to keep Oregon’s air and water healthy and protect local farms and forests. Representative Vicki Berger earned OLCV’s “Award for Perseverance” as she worked tirelessly to update Oregon’s bottle bill and increased her score to 65%, an incredible improvement over her lifetime average 16%.

Representative Betty Komp joined her colleagues and supported measures for cleaner air and healthier waterways. She had the best environmental voting record in Marion County at 95%, improving her score from 59% in 2005.

Freshman Brian Clem fought to keep Marion County farms and orchards safe from reckless development working with other legislators to craft Measure 49, a proposal to restore fairness to Oregon’s small landowners while protecting Oregon’s special places. His 84% was a large improvement over his predecessor’s 24% in 2005.

Unfortunately, the Scorecard news wasn’t entirely positive. Aside from Courtney, Marion County’s other Senators earned mediocre to poor scores. Senators Roger Beyer (16%), Gary George (38%) and Larry George (13%) are three of only six Senators to score below 50%, with Larry George and Beyer earning the two lowest scores statewide.

Among House members, Representatives Kim Thatcher (28%), Vic Gilliam (26%) and Fred Girod (20%) are decidedly out of step with their constituents and fellow Legislators voting against responsible environmental safeguards most of the time.

OLCV plans to continue working with legislators in preparation for the next session, even those who scored poorly. “Sometimes all we need to do is ask our legislators to stop and think before they vote. Are they really doing what’s in the public’s best interest?” said Sybil Ackerman, OLCV Director of Legislative Affairs.

The 2007 Scorecard includes 20 House votes and 19 Senate votes, covering 21 bills.

OLCV encourages voters to find out who’s looking out for Oregon’s water, air, and land -- and who’s not at olcv.org