This year, there has been a flurry of initiative
petition activity in Oregon.
In September, the
Secretary of State Bev Clarno rejected three anti-forestry initiative petitions 35, 36, and 37 for
violating the single subject rule of the Oregon Constitution. The Oregon Secretary
of State is granted exclusive authority in determining whether initiative
petitions have followed the required constitutional process. The petitioners
challenged that decision in court. Right before Thanksgiving, a Marion County Circuit
Court judge ruled in her favor. The activist groups have already filed to
appeal the ruling.
Also, in response to the Secretary of
State’s constitutional determination, the petitioners filed three additional
measures with some minor revisions:
IP 45
- Establishes 100
ft harvest buffers on fishbearing streams and 50 ft buffers most other
waterways.
- Notification of
pesticide applications 14-21 days prior to an application to the Oregon
Department of Forestry (ODF). ODF shall send notice to any person who has
requested notification and has a physical address within one mile of the
proposed application.
- Establishes a 500
ft aerial application buffer for any water on forestland.
- Takes 2/3 of the
Oregon Forest Resources Institute’s revenue and reallocates to enforcing the
measure and fire suppression to protect forest waters.
IP 46
- Notification of
pesticide applications 14-21 days prior to an application to ODF. ODF shall
send notice to any person who has requested notification and has a physical
address within one mile of the proposed application.
- Establishes a 500
ft aerial application buffer for any water on forestland.
IP 47
- Establishes 100
ft harvest buffers on fishbearing streams and 50 ft buffers most other
waterways.
Each of these measures exempt federal
and tribal lands.
Last week the Oregon Secretary of
State approved these three proposed statewide ballot measures that would impose
unreasonable restrictions on pesticide use, including aerial application, such
as the 500 ft aerial application buffer for any water on forestland. The
measures are currently going through the ballot drafting process, which will
take a couple of months.
112,020 signatures will be required to
qualify for the November 2020 ballot. Signatures must be turned into the
Secretary of State by July 2, 2020.
Oregon’s forest industry has also filed
three measures, none of which directly related to pesticides, to balance this
statewide discussion.
NAAA will continue to work with
various local, state and national stakeholders, including Oregonians
for Food and Shelter, to ensure these
unreasonable proposals do to not become public law.
