Chamber opposes Eugene Clean Energy Fund 

The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce has come out against a city ballot measure that would require corporations with stores or operations in Eugene to pay fees into a clean energy fund.

In a letter that went out to members Aug. 25, chamber President Brittany Quick-Warner wrote that its board of directors had voted to oppose the fund. 

“This is not a vote against climate action or a healthy environment,” Quick-Warner wrote. “The Chamber and our members support both, and we are proud to be working with many of you who are investing in them already. Our concern is with how this measure is built, particularly, that it would raise costs across our community without a reliable payoff for the climate.” 

The proposed measure outlines a “fee on large retailers” that earn more than $1 billion annually in the United States and more than $500,000 within the city of Eugene. Those companies would pay a surcharge of 2% on gross profits from sales. Basic groceries, medicine, and garbage and recycling services are exempt from the fee. 

A coalition that includes Beyond Toxics, Breach Collective, Oregon Just Transition Alliance and Sierra Club of Oregon registered the Eugene Clean Energy Fund, which qualified Aug. 5 for the ballot with about 14,000 signatures. The coalition estimates the fund would generate about $15 million per year. 

The proposed legislation outlines how money from the fund could be spent, including on investments in renewable energy infrastructure and clean jobs. It also directs a nine-member committee to recommend allocations to the mayor and City Council. 

In a list of bullet points laying out its opposition, the chamber contends the fund “sets up a system with limited accountability” and pulls money out of the local economy. 

“Whether or not your business would write a check for this tax, removing an estimated $15 to $40 million a year of spending from Eugene affects everyone,” Quick-Warner wrote. “Small, local businesses buy from, sell to, and share customers with the larger employers this targets; when their costs rise, the ripple reaches our small business community as well.” 

The Eugene Clean Energy Fund is the second environmental campaign the chamber has opposed this year. 

Quick-Warner and the chamber pushed back against the Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights during the spring election, because of what they described as legal uncertainty and unintended impacts on the economy.

The chamber was part of a coalition that raised more than $435,000 by May to oppose the watersheds proposal — about 16 times the $27,183 raised by the “Yes” campaign. 

The Eugene Clean Energy Fund is already off to a stronger financial start than the watersheds measure, with about $256,000 in total contributions as of Sept. 1. Top contributors include the Accelerator for America Action and the Jane Fonda Climate PAC. 

“It is no surprise that billion-dollar corporations are working with the Chamber of Commerce to make unfounded claims and spread misinformation about the Eugene Clean Energy Fund measure as they work to maximize profits at the expense of our climate and our communities,” said Jennifer Davis, executive director of Beyond Toxics, in an emailed statement. “The measure would require these mega-corporations to pay their fair share towards funding clean energy, good jobs and a better future for Eugene.” 

The Eugene Clean Energy Fund “is based on tried and tested policy, and has widespread support in our community, with endorsements from elected leaders, local businesses, labor unions, environmental and climate organizations,” Davis said. “We are confident that Eugene voters will see through the Chamber of Commerce’s misinformation campaign and support the measure this November.”  

Organizers of the campaign modeled the fund after the Portland Clean Energy Fund, which passed in 2018.