Aug 29, 2026 · 46 min · 11 segments
It's worse than we thought: Jen Hamaker on what Oregon's own rules actually say about the Climate Protection Program — threshold widening, the six-year rule, the real $12,000-per-ton penalty, and…
I think one of the themes for this election is that Democrats, who are allegedly all about democracy, simply don't want to listen to people.
Remember that ODOT gas tax that every Democrat plus one Republican who is now a Democrat voted for? That 83% of Oregonians then said no to and voted it down when they finally did have a voice? That was a paltry $0.06 per gallon tax.
What's happening now, that is currently in effect, makes that pale in comparison to what's coming if it's allowed to continue.
Then-Governor Kate Brown sent the state police after them, but after public pressure, she relented and the bill died.
During that fight, Republicans and industry agreed demanded that the question go to the voters.
So two weeks after that walkout, Governor Kate Brown signed an executive order at 20-04 directing state agencies, unelected state agencies, to design and build the program that the Democrat-controlled legislature had just failed twice to pass.
But then the Court of Appeals threw it out on procedural grounds in December 2023 without ever ruling on the actual merits of the rules themselves.
COTEC, newly elected in 2022, declined to appeal it to the Supreme Court and instead had DEQ redo it.
But what is the Climate Protection Program? For those of you who didn't listen to our previous shows, or those of you who did and would like a refresher, The Climate Protection Program is a hard, shrinking cap on carbon emissions.
It is an executive order written by DEQ staff and is enforced by an unelected commission.
I think one of the themes for this election is that Democrats, who are allegedly all about democracy, simply don't want to listen to people.
Remember that ODOT gas tax that every Democrat plus one Republican who is now a Democrat voted for? That 83% of Oregonians then said no to and voted it down when they finally did have a voice? That was a paltry $0.06 per gallon tax.
What's happening now, that is currently in effect, makes that pale in comparison to what's coming if it's allowed to continue.
Then-Governor Kate Brown sent the state police after them, but after public pressure, she relented and the bill died.
During that fight, Republicans and industry agreed demanded that the question go to the voters.
So two weeks after that walkout, Governor Kate Brown signed an executive order at 20-04 directing state agencies, unelected state agencies, to design and build the program that the Democrat-controlled legislature had just failed twice to pass.
But then the Court of Appeals threw it out on procedural grounds in December 2023 without ever ruling on the actual merits of the rules themselves.
COTEC, newly elected in 2022, declined to appeal it to the Supreme Court and instead had DEQ redo it.
But what is the Climate Protection Program? For those of you who didn't listen to our previous shows, or those of you who did and would like a refresher, The Climate Protection Program is a hard, shrinking cap on carbon emissions.
It is an executive order written by DEQ staff and is enforced by an unelected commission.
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