Legislative Hub

Our Advocacy

For over a decade, Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN) has been a catalytic force in shaping climate policy throughout Southern Oregon and beyond. Born from grassroots urgency and sustained by a volunteer-driven engine, SOCAN has contributed meaningfully to most regional climate-related policies enacted in the past 12 years. Our track record spans policy testimony, science education, community mobilization, and public accountability—from rallying support for legislative reforms like HB 3477 to spearheading local business engagement initiatives.

Through public forums, expert-led discussions, and strategic partnerships, SOCAN continues to embed climate awareness into civic and legislative discourse, advancing a model of climate action grounded in community knowledge and policy alignment.

Current Session Calendar

Session Starts – January 20th, 2026
Mid-Session – April 20th, 2026
Last Day of Session – May 1st, 2026

Action Alerts

Check Back when the Session Starts
Check Back when the Session Starts
Check Back when the Session Starts

How-to

Use OLIS

SOCAN is working to become Southern Oregon’s central hub for climate education bridging classrooms, communities, and campuses.

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Write a Comment

SOCAN is building partnerships, not just programs. Through forums, social events, and the climate conversation series, we’re creating space for communities to gather, speak, and act. Tools matter.

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Understand the Process

SOCAN drives climate advocacy through informed action and organized presence. Whether it’s at a city council meeting or a forest management roundtable, we show up—and bring the community with us.

Introduction / Committee Action

An idea for a bill is drafted and introduced by a member of Congress (either the House or Senate), becoming the “sponsor”.

Floor Action

If the committee releases the bill, it is placed on a calendar to be debated and voted on by the full chamber (House or Senate).

Other Chamber Vote

If the bill passes the first chamber (House or Senate), it is then sent to the other chamber.

Governor Signature

Once both chambers pass the bill in identical form, it is sent to the Governor or President.
The Chief can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

Notable Committee’s In Oregon

Environment & Energy (EE)

Chair:
Co-Chair:
Climate change is driven by human activity—primarily the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas—which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and traps heat. Industrial practices, deforestation, and large-scale agriculture intensify the problem. This isn’t abstract science: it’s the engine behind rising wildfires, extreme weather, and ecosystem collapse. The causes are clear, and so is the call to act.

Natural Resources & Wildfire (NR&W)

Chair:
Co-Chair:
The impacts of climate change are already reshaping our daily lives. We’re seeing more extreme wildfires, longer droughts, and deadly heatwaves. Communities face worsening air quality, rising healthcare costs, and threats to food and water security. Sea levels are rising, displacing people and endangering coastal infrastructure. For Oregon and beyond, the risks are no longer distant—they’re here, and they’re accelerating. Climate change deepens social inequities and strains every system we depend on.

Climate, Energy & Environment (CEE)

Chair:
Co-Chair:
The impacts of climate change are already reshaping our daily lives. We’re seeing more extreme wildfires, longer droughts, and deadly heatwaves. Communities face worsening air quality, rising healthcare costs, and threats to food and water security. Sea levels are rising, displacing people and endangering coastal infrastructure. For Oregon and beyond, the risks are no longer distant—they’re here, and they’re accelerating. Climate change deepens social inequities and strains every system we depend on.

Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water (ALNW)

Chair:
Co-Chair:
The impacts of climate change are already reshaping our daily lives. We’re seeing more extreme wildfires, longer droughts, and deadly heatwaves. Communities face worsening air quality, rising healthcare costs, and threats to food and water security. Sea levels are rising, displacing people and endangering coastal infrastructure. For Oregon and beyond, the risks are no longer distant—they’re here, and they’re accelerating. Climate change deepens social inequities and strains every system we depend on.

Oregon’s Climate Action Plan

Oregon’s Climate Action Plan, initiated by Executive Order 20-04 in March 2020, was Governor Kate Brown’s direct response to the legislative gridlock that derailed cap-and-invest climate legislation earlier that year. When the Oregon Senate’s Republican members staged a walkout to prevent a quorum on SB1530—a bill that would have created a market-based emissions reduction program—the governor exercised her executive authority. EO 20-04 directed state agencies to take immediate and coordinated action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, aiming for a minimum 80% reduction below 1990 levels by 2050.

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Jordan Cove Pipeline

Between 2016 and 2017, Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN) played a leading role in the regional resistance to the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector pipeline. In close partnership with Rogue Riverkeeper, Rogue Climate, tribal nations, private landowners, and environmental organizations, SOCAN mobilized grassroots energy against a project that posed serious risks to our climate, ecosystems, and community sovereignty.

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Historic Advocacy

SOCAN has been providing climate sensible policy recommendations to the Oregon State Legislature since 2014, here you can find a historical record of the bills that we have supported and opposed.

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Learn how to Write Climate Content

SOCAN has compiled resources to assist aspiring public comment, and media savy individuals in helping to spread the word about the science of Climate Change.

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