75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
SA to SB 513
LC 1718/SB 513-3
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO
SENATE BILL 513
By COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
April 9
On page 1 of the printed bill, line 2, after the semicolon
delete the rest of the line and insert 'appropriating money; and
declaring an emergency.'.
Delete lines 4 through 28 and delete pages 2 and 3 and insert:
' { + SECTION 1. + } { + As used in sections 1 to 5 of this
2009 Act:
' (1) 'Adaptive management mechanisms' means the processes of
implementing programs in a scientifically based, systematically
structured approach that tests and monitors assumptions and
predictions in management activities and then uses the resulting
information to improve programs and management activities.
' (2) 'Ecological values' means clean air, clean and abundant
water, fish and wildlife habitat and other values that are
generally considered public goods.
' (3) 'Ecosystem services' means the benefits that human
communities enjoy as a result of natural processes and biological
diversity.
' (4) 'Ecosystem services market' means a system in which
providers of ecosystem services can access financing to protect,
restore and maintain ecological values, including the full
spectrum of regulatory, quasi-regulatory and voluntary markets.
' (5) 'Payment for ecosystem services' means arrangements
through which the beneficiaries of ecosystem services pay back
the providers of ecosystem services. + }
' { + SECTION 2. + } { + It is the policy of this state to
support the maintenance, enhancement and restoration of ecosystem
services throughout Oregon, focusing on the protection of land,
water, air, soil and native flora and fauna. + }
' { + SECTION 3. + } { + The Legislative Assembly finds
that:
' (1) Maintaining sustainable rural and urban landscapes is
important for the quality of life of all Oregonians. Sustainable
forestry, agriculture and ranching practices can help to maintain
and restore the vitality of Oregon's communities while also
helping to preserve Oregon's natural landscapes and ecosystems.
It is necessary to assist landowners in gaining access to
additional sources of revenue such as emerging ecosystem services
markets and to help landowners diversify their incomes, improve
the ecological functions of their lands and pass along their
lands and the lands' associated benefits to future generations.
' (2) Employment and economic opportunities are important to
Oregonians in order to maintain a high quality of life and
prosperity. A scarcity of land that is available for development
is a significant limiting factor in some regions of Oregon.
Oregon needs a system that will provide assurances that
development will occur in suitable locations so that ecological
values will be maintained and improve.
' (3) Many different local, state and federal agencies and the
private sector have obligations to protect natural resources, to
regulate the use of natural resources and to promote economic
development while also minimizing adverse impacts to natural
resources. However, these efforts are generally fragmented and
uncoordinated and often work at cross-purposes.
' (4) Oregon's natural resources, and the ways these natural
resources are used, are important to Oregonians. These natural
resources include native flora and fauna. These natural resources
provide food and shelter, flood control, water filtration, clean
air, fish and wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities,
aesthetic benefits, jobs and a high quality of life for all
Oregonians. Science has demonstrated the importance of these
natural resources to our daily lives. The adverse impacts of
climate change may stress some natural resources to the point
that they no longer provide ecosystem services. It is necessary
to improve the overall health of our natural resources in order
to maintain these resources for present and future generations.
' (5) The conservation and restoration of ecosystem services
will help avoid carbon emissions, help address impacts associated
with climate change and help natural resources adapt to these
impacts. New or improved regulatory schemes and increased public
awareness will make additional natural resources available to
protect and enhance ecosystem services. Oregon has the
opportunity to become a leader in developing and improving the
ecological effectiveness and economic viability of payments for
ecosystem services.
' (6) Given appropriate oversight, ecosystem services markets
can save money, lead to more efficient, innovative and effective
restoration actions than pure regulatory approaches and
facilitate improved integration of public and private
investment. + }
' { + SECTION 4. + } { + (1) State agencies are encouraged
to adopt and incorporate adaptive management mechanisms in their
programs in order to support the maintenance, restoration and
enhancement of ecosystem services.
' (2) State agencies are encouraged to use ecosystem services
markets as a means to meet mitigation needs, after carefully
avoiding the most sensitive resources and minimizing adverse
impacts where development occurs. When a state agency adopts a
strategy or a decision that calls for the mitigation of
potentially adverse environmental consequences, the state agency
must consider mitigation strategies that recognize the need for
biological connectivity and the overall ecological viability of
restoration efforts at a landscape scale rather than exercise an
automatic preference for on-site, in-kind mitigation. + }
' { + SECTION 5. + } { + (1)(a) The Sustainability Board
shall convene an ecosystem services markets working group
consisting of representatives of local and state agencies and
representatives of other parties, including but not limited to
federal agencies, Indian tribes, conservation organizations and
developers and landowners from the private sector.
' (b) Representatives chosen from the parties specified in
paragraph (a) of this subsection must be active in improving the
ecological effectiveness of ecosystem services markets.
' (2) The ecosystem services markets working group shall:
' (a) Study and propose overarching goals to guide the
development of integrated ecosystem services markets in Oregon
that are efficient, coordinated and designed to produce positive
ecological and economic outcomes with reasonable administrative
costs to all participants;
' (b) Address entities that would be most appropriate to guide,
facilitate and implement an ecosystem services market in Oregon;
' (c) Address the need for a consistent methodology to describe
and quantify ecological values and in doing so consider
methodologies that have been developed or are in the process of
being developed;
' (d) Make recommendations concerning the development of
appropriate ecological evaluation and accounting systems;
' (e) Consider the appropriate role of government participation
in ecosystem services markets in order to ensure that the
activities of state agencies are well-coordinated and maintain a
positive influence in maximizing ecological, social and economic
benefits for the public and private sectors; and
' (f) Propose potential policies to help stimulate demand for
payments for ecosystem services, in particular the development of
regulatory and voluntary ecosystem services markets.
' (3) No later than January 1, 2011, the Sustainability Board
shall submit a report regarding its work conducted under this
section, and may include recommendations for legislation, to the
Legislative Assembly in the manner provided by ORS 192.245.
' (4) The Sustainability Board may contract with the Institute
for Natural Resources of Oregon State University to carry out the
provisions of this section. + }
' { + SECTION 6. + } { + Section 5 of this 2009 Act is
repealed on the date of the convening of the next regular
biennial legislative session. + }
' { + SECTION 7. + } { + (1) There is appropriated to the
Sustainability Board, for the biennium beginning July 1, 2009,
out of the General Fund, the amount of $120,000 for the purpose
of carrying out the provisions of section 5 of this 2009 Act.
' (2) Notwithstanding ORS 184.435 (2), any moneys appropriated
by subsection (1) of this section that are unexpended and
unobligated on June 30, 2011, shall revert to the General Fund
and be available for general governmental expenses. + }
' { + SECTION 8. + } { + This 2009 Act being necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and
safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2009 Act
takes effect on its passage. + } ' .
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