2015 Environmental Scorecard for the Oregon Legislature

The 78th Legislature

Big Wins, Tough Losses, and Lots Left to Do

For the first time, OLCV has developed a scorecard for the whole two years between legislative elections. Scores are derived from votes taken in both the long session, which happens in odd-numbered years, and the short session, which happens in even-numbered years. Our goal, and a core part of our mission, is to hold legislators accountable. By skipping short sessions, which started in 2008 and were approved by voters in 2010, we were missing our chance to tell the whole story. Now, when you go to vote in 2016, you will have all of the information you need to determine if your legislators matched your values when it comes to Oregon’s natural legacy.

The 78th Legislature was sworn in January 2015, in the midst of an emerging scandal that would lead to a brand new governor and a session-long struggle to protect a big environmental win. You can read more about the 2015 session here.

That same group of legislators came back to the Capitol to take care of unfinished business and deal with emerging problems in 2016. It was considered by just about everyone to be among the toughest, most partisan sessions in recent history. You can read about the 2016 session here.

In summary, across both sessions, OLCV and our allies in the environmental community experienced both highs and lows. Three landmark victories – the continuation of the Clean Fuels Program, the passage (finally) of the Toxic-Free Kids Act, and the launch of the Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan – were counterbalanced by rollbacks on land use and wildlife during the 2016 session. Also, many good bills – despite the support of the majority of legislators – were stopped in their tracks because of an unwillingness to overcome special interest opposition. Big wins, tough losses, and lots left to do…

Dive into the 2015-2016 Environmental Scorecard:

Find your legislator:

Need to look up your legislator? Enter your address here to find out who represents you.


2015's Notable Leaders

Scores only told part of the story in 2015. We gave these awards to the legislators who voted the right way AND took a leadership role when it came to protecting our environment during the long session.

Rep. Peter Buckley
Environmental Champion of the Year
Sen. Chris Edwards
Dynamic Duo
Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson
Dynamic Duo
Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer
Perseverance Award
Speaker Tina Kotek
Defender of the Year
Rep. Ann Lininger
Rising Star
Rep. Ken Helm
Rising Star
Rep. Dan Rayfield
Rising Star
Rep. Tobias Read
Innovator of the Year
Sen. Michael Dembrow
Innovator of the Year

Read more about the notable leaders.

Explore the bills:


The 2015 Bill Graveyard

The Scorecard shows how legislators voted on bills that made it to the House or Senate floor. But many other bills – good and bad – never make it out of committee. Others fail on the floor, while still others are sent back to committee before all legislators can be held accountable by a vote. We highlight the best of the best and worst of the worst in our Bill Graveyard.

 
 

About OLCV

The Oregon League of Conservation Voters is a non-partisan organization with a simple mission: to pass laws that protect Oregon's environmental legacy, elect pro-environment candidates to office, and hold all of our elected officials accountable.

For more information about OLCV, visit our website at olcv.org.

About the Scorecard

For more than 40 years, OLCV has protected Oregon's natural legacy. An essential part of our work is holding our elected officials accountable. The OLCV Environmental Scorecard is not only one of our most important accountability tools, but also a tradition. The first scorecard was published in 1973.

By sharing how each member of the Legislature voted on the most critical conservation bills, we help Oregonians understand whether legislators listened to their constituents, or if they listened to special interest groups instead. It also serves as a summary of environmental bills and includes special recognition of the legislative champions.