RACC Issues & Positions - Roseburg Area Chamber

Chamber Issues & Positions

RACC’S 2023-24 Public Affairs & Legislative Agenda **

The chamber has submitted on its own or added its name to coalitions in support of:

Federal transportation infrastructure funding
Effective management of public timber lands to include increased harvest
More effective management of public lands after a fire or other catastrophic event
Funding for State Veterans Home in Roseburg
Allied Health School aka “Med Ed” siting in Roseburg
Support of Transportation & Infrastructure
Support for Federal permitting streamlining
Fought against proposed increased taxes on Oregon businesses
Advocated for border security and legal immigration reform to address workforce shortage (See LIBERTY Campaign Coalition Letter)

** The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2025-26 Public Affairs & Legislative Agenda has been drafted and approved by the board of directors. The 2025-26 agenda will be published and posted online in mid-December.

Congress Urged to Pass Emergency Relief Supplemental

The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce joined with a coalition of state and local chambers of commerce through the US urging Senate and House Leadership to expeditious pass an emergency supplemental appropriations bill during the upcoming Congressional work period to replenish funding for disaster relief programs that have been or are at threat of being exhausted as a result of recent natural disasters. Read the November 12, 2024 coalition letter HERE.

Oregonians Overwhelmingly Defeat Measure 118

THANK YOU to our RACC members and local business community!

Thank you for responding to the Roseburg Area Chamber’s “Calls to Action” on Measure 118. Thank you for being some of the first businesses, organizations and individuals to join the “NO on 118/Defeat the Costly Tax on Sales” Coalition. Thank you for financial support, putting up signs, spreading the word and VOTING! The overwhelming defeat of M118 is a credit to you and a success belonging to and for Oregonians!

Roseburg Area Chamber 2024 Candidate Endorsements

UPDATE: Thank you members, local businesses and residents for supporting RACC-endorsed candidates. Thanks to you, each of the chamber’s endorsed candidates were elected/reelected!

In addition to our opposition to Measure 118, the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce has endorsed incumbents/candidates in two contested state legislative races and two contested Roseburg city council races.

The chamber does not endorse in every race unless there is a clear and compelling reason to do so.

There are a number of criteria considered in RACC’s candidate endorsements. Chamber leadership reviews voting records, responses to written questionnaires and conducts in-person interviews as part of the candidate review process. Our endorsements are, first and foremost, based on a candidate’s proven support of local businesses in alignment with the chamber’s pro-business positions.

These individuals have the chamber’s confidence and full support. The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce endorses:

Katie Williams for Roseburg City Council, Ward 1, Position 2

Andrea Zielinski for Roseburg City Council, Ward 2, Position 2

David Brock Smith, Oregon Senate, District 1

Virgle Osborne, Oregon House of Representatives, District 2

Please cast your vote in support of our local businesses, by voting for RACC-endorsed candidates and voting NO on Measure 118!

Chamber Urges Congress to Pursue Pro-Growth Tax Policy

The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce joined more than 500 state and local chambers and national trade associations in calling on the next Congress and administration to pursue a pro-growth agenda and prevent tax increases on American families and businesses.

In 2017, pro-growth tax reforms were enacted to invigorate our economy, bringing significant benefits to families and local businesses nationwide. These changes sparked new companies, fueled pay raises for workers, and opened job opportunities as employers reinvested in their communities. Without decisive action from the next Congress and administration, many of the pro-growth tax reforms enacted in 2017 will automatically vanish at the end of 2025.

The coalition letter, from chambers and organizations from every state in the U.S., was sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday, September 12. Read the letter HERE.

Chamber Comments on DEQ’s 2024 Climate Protection Program Draft Rules

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting public comment on its Climate Protection Program.

In 2023, the Oregon Court of Appeals struck down the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Climate Protection Program (CPP), which would have raised energy prices for Oregonians, including our businesses, hospital and schools. Now, the agency is back with the same costly program and is seeking public comment on the draft rules.

While the program’s environmental goals are commendable, the financial burden on our local businesses, organizations, residents, and all Oregonians should not be overlooked. The CPP will lead to increased energy costs for consumers, putting a strain on budgets that are already stretched too thin.

The Oregon DEQ acknowledges in their own draft Fiscal Impact Statement that compliance costs for fuel suppliers, including natural gas utilities, will likely be passed on to consumers. In the same document, they maintain this could disproportionately impact businesses, industries, and low-income households and rural areas like Douglas County, which may face challenges transitioning to clean energy and are less resilient to price increases. Regardless, they continue to push forward with the program.

Energy cost increases are also anticipated for other large natural gas customers like local hospitals, manufacturers, and schools, since the rule contains no cost caps.

On August 26, the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce submitted its comment letter to the Oregon DEQ regarding its proposed CPP. Read RACC Comment Letter.

The deadline to submit comments to the DEQ is September 27 at 4:00 pm. Send a message to the DEQ urging them to consider the economic impact this program will have on Oregonians.

Chamber Supports City’s Proposed UGB Swap

At the March 19 meeting, the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to support the city of Roseburg’s proposed Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) land swap. For details about the chamber’s position, please see the chamber’s letter of support.

Roseburg Chamber Joins US Chamber Opposition to CARB Application

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce submitted a letter on April 10 to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, signed by more than 130 state and local chambers, including the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce, asking EPA to deny the California Air Resources Board’s application to exempt its In-Use Locomotive Regulation from the Clean Air Act. That move would require railroads to move to zero-emission locomotives in some cases by 2030 and in all cases by 2035, “even though the technologies necessary to achieve these reductions do not exist.” The signers say the CARB rule “threatens the supply chain” and would force freight off the rails and onto roads, among other harms. Read the letter HERE.

Chamber Coalition Supports H.R. 7198, The Prove It Act of 2024

Related to chamber coalition outcry about the need for reform of the 44-year-old Regulatory Flexibility Act (below), the Roseburg Area Chamber joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, local and state chambers throughout the country in support of H.R. 7198. The Prove It Act of 2024, is a bipartisan bill that would be a major step forward for small businesses that are harmed by excessive federal regulations. The chamber coalition letter in support of H.R. 7198 was submitted to members of the U.S. House of Representatives on May 21, 2024. Read the coalition letter HERE.

Chamber Coalition Supporting Small Business Input in Federal Rulemaking

The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce joined local and state chambers throughout the United States on the U.S. Chamber’s coalition letter on Regulatory Flexibility Act reform in support of small business. The February 1, 2024 letter was sent to members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committees on Small Business and of the Judiciary supporting reform in implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Read the coalition letter HERE.

Oregon’s 2024 Legislative Session: RACC Positions on Bills

The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce monitors business-related bills during each legislative session. This list of bills the chamber supports or opposes evolves as the session advances. Below is a list of some of the bills the chamber took positions during the 2024 session. For a recap of the 2024 Oregon Legislative Session from the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC), Click Here and from Oregon Business & Industry (OBI), Click Here.

Oregon House of Representatives

SUPPORTS:

HB 4050—The Act removes an exception to the state law concerning pay equity requirement.

HB 4055—Raises the exemption and filing thresholds for the CAT tax.

HB 4106—Directs establishment of sustainable harvest levels of timber on state forestlands.

OPPOSES:

HB 4005—Makes changes to state law to clarify/expanding the meaning of an individual’s performance of services.

WATCHING:

HB 4002—Ballot Measure 110 reform.

Oregon Senate

SUPPORTS:

SB 1542—Increases threshold to $5 million for Oregon businesses to pay CAT.

OPPOSES:

SB 1559—Related to greenhouse gas reduction goals.

SB 1573—Would allow workers of subcontractors to file suits against general contractors for unpaid wages.

SB 1593–Imposes new tax on gross proceeds from sale of unprocessed timber harvests on private land.

WATCHING:

SB 1515—Proposal to mitigate or eliminate employee “stacking” related to Paid Leave Oregon & OFLA.

SB 1537—Related to accelerated housing production.

SB 1580—Related workers’ compensation fraud and imposition of criminal penalties on employers.

SB 1595–Relating to protections from debt collection.

2024 Legislative Updates from the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC)

2024 Oregon Legislative Session Recap

Chamber Files Amicus Briefs with U.S. Supreme Court Supporting Petitions for Certiorari / UPDATE: U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petitions

On December 14, the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce filed a Brief of Amici Curiae in support of petition for certiorari filed by petitioners in Murphy Company, et al v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., in his official capacity as President of the United States, et al (No. 23-525). On Friday, December 15, the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce filed a Brief of Amici Curiae in support of petition for certiorari filed by petitioners in American Forest Resource Council, et al v. United States of America, et al (No. 23-524).

Amicus curiae literally means “friend of the court;” an individual or organization that is not a party to a particular case, but which has interest in the case or information related to a case of critical importance to their community(ies). The chamber’s filings are founded in its long-standing interest and advocation for active management of public forestland for all designated purposes mandated under the O & C Act of 1937. The chamber is pleased and honored to have NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) Small Business Legal Center join both briefs in support of said U.S. Supreme Court petitions.

To read the chamber’s Amicus Brief in the American Forest Resource Council, et al case CLICK HERE. To read the chamber’s Amicus Brief in the Murphy Company, et al case CLICK HERE.

There are numerous reasons underlying the chamber’s decision to file briefs in both of these cases. First, the chamber, representing the interests of its members and Douglas County businesses, has significant interest in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Designation, the BLM’s 2016 Western Oregon Resource Management Plan and the impacts due to lack of effective management of O & C Act forestland. Specifically, the threat to the protectable interests of the chamber, its members and the Douglas County businesses for which the chamber advocates. Read full article HERE.

UPDATE: The US Supreme Court met on Friday, March 22, to discuss the requests by Murphy Co. and American Forest Resource Council to review the expansion of the Oregon monument into O&C Act lands. On March 25, they published their decision, and unfortunately the Court has decided to deny reviewing those cases. So the D.C. Circuit’s and Ninth Circuit’s rulings (which we don’t support) will stand. Order List (03/25/2024) (supremecourt.gov)

If there is a sliver of good news, it’s that two Supreme Court justices – Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, whom we cited purposefully and visibly in our brief because we hoped they would carry the matter forward into review for us – did want to review the cases. They “dissented” from the fuller Court’s refusal to review the cases.

ARCHIVES: Oregon’s 2023 Legislative Session: RACC Positions on Bills

The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce monitors hundreds of business-related bills during each legislative session. This list of bills the chamber supports or opposes grows as the session advances. Below is a list of current bills the RACC has positions on, but check back frequently as the list is updated as appropriate. For a recap of the 2023 Oregon Legislative Session, Click Here.

Oregon House of Representatives

OPPOSES:

HB 2923–Related to predictive scheduling; imposing requirements on hospitals.

HB 2396–Related in indirect sources of air pollution.

HB 2494–Relating to local transient lodging taxes.

HB 2821–Relating to nonprofit corporations that receive public funds.

HB 3019–Relating to transferring of funds from Oregon Forest Resources Institute. See RACC’s letter opposing HB 3019.

HB 3152–Relating to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. See RACC’s Testimony in Opposition

HB 3158–Relating to engine emissions; creating new provision.

HB 3159–Relating to funding to support species conservation; creating new provisions. Increases state TLT.

HB 3205–Relating to the exemption of certain bonuses from pay equity requirements. The RACC initially supported HB 3205, in its original proposal, see RACC’s Testimony in Support. On May 10, HB 3205 was gutted by Senate Labor & Business Committee Chair Kathleen Taylor. Senator Taylor’s amendment replaces the bill previously supported. RACC no longer supports HB 3205.

HB 3229–Relating to increase in DEQ Title V permit fees.

HB 3242 and HB 3243–Related to first party lawsuits on insurance claims. See HB 3242 & HB 3243 Opposition Letter.

SUPPORTS:

HB 2433–Relating to exempt amount under corporate activity tax (CAT); creating new provision.

HB 3078–Relating to designation of enterprise zones.

Oregon Senate

OPPOSES:

SB 803–Relating to diesel fuel.

SB 851–Relating to workplace psychological safety.

SB 907–Relating to employee’s rights to refuse to perform certain work assignments.

SB 925–Relating to mandatory pay disclosures for job postings.

SUPPORTS:

SB 127–Relating to exempt amount under corporate activity (CAT) tax; creating new provisions.

SB 754–Relating to releases of liability.

SB 795–Directs State Board of Forestry to convey certain state forest lands to county that determines that county would secure greatest permanent value of lands to county. See RACC’s Testimony in Support

SB 1009–Authorizes issuance of general obligation bonds under Article XI-Q of Oregon Constitution for construction of veterans’ home in Roseburg, Oregon.

For more details about the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s positions on specific proposed state and federal legislation, visit RACC’s “Calls to Action” and “Current News” pages, for both current and archived news from the recent Oregon Legislative Session as well as RACC positions on business-relevant matters in the US Congress.

The Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce keeps its members updated on issues, matters and positions relevant to Douglas County businesses in its Business Perspectives newsletter and “Chamber News” email blasts which can be found HERE.

*** * * * * * * ***

2023 Legislative Updates from the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC)

2023 Oregon Legislative Session Recap

*** * * * * * * ***

Highlighted 2019 positions/issues are archived, below. Archived positions/issues from 2020-22 can be found “Archived” on “Calls to Action.”

2019 Chamber Issues & Positions (Archived)

The chamber has submitted on its own or added its name to coalitions in support of:

Federal transportation infrastructure funding
Jordan Cove LNG & Pacific Connector Pipeline Project
Effective management of public timber lands to include increased harvest
More effective management of public lands after a fire or other catastrophic event
Funding for State Veterans Home in Roseburg
Allied Health School aka “Med Ed” siting in Roseburg
Support of Transportation & Infrastructure

2019/20 Public Affairs & Legislative Agenda