STOP Oregon State Senate from sneaking it's own version of TPP's ISDS this week!

[cascadiance]

HB 3212 has already passed the House that "snuck" it through without the corporate media talking about it at all, much like the TPP hasn't been talked about to the public either with the efforts to try to push through Fast Track this week that fortunately got stopped today at a national level.

This bill shows the extent that companies like Monsanto will go in terms of spending money to take away the sovereignty of locally passed laws to put some degree of control over corporate practices that affect our communities and try to take away any efforts to regulate them and make them responsible for the harm they do to the environment and our food.

Read more here:

http://sustainabilitylaw.info/wp/oregons-monsanto-protection-act-part-2-hb-3212-hurts-small-farmers-and-protects-out-of-state-big-ag/

Oregon’s Monsanto Protection Act Part 2: HB 3212 Hurts Small Farmers (and Protects Out of State Big Ag)
May 5, 2015 Melissa Wischerath

HB 3212 was quietly introduced this session and passed by the House. It now moves forward for a vote in the Senate. Please call your senator today and urge them to vote no on HB 3212.

What it is: This proposed law is latest, and most egregious, in a series of demands by out of state agricultural corporations designed to avoid any semblance of regulation or oversight of farming practices. This law states that farmers who had to change their practices due to a law or rule enacted after January 1st 2010 (i.e. they could no longer burn fields at will, or plant gmo crops) can receive compensation for the loss of fair market value from the local government or agency that regulated the farming practice. In other words, it puts small communities on the hook for attempting to fight Big Ag.

Who it helps: Out of state, Big Ag

Who/What it impacts: This legislation will overturn existing ordinances, rules and laws enacted after January 1, 2010 that regulate any farming practice which were previously allowed prior to the laws enactment. For instance, it will overturn Oregon’s Burn Ban (which was passed to curb air pollution and environmental hazards associated with uncoordinated field burning) and local ordinances to regulate Genetically Engineered Crops (which passed in Jackson and Josephine County by grassroots ballot initiatives in May, 2014).It will not only affect laws that have passed but will impact all current and future efforts at local control of these practices while the state provides no meaningful regulatory action.

...

Look at the vote counts here in the House. I'm frankly surprised how many Democrats voted for this mess! They must be very afraid of corporate money. To be honest, even big money from people like Bloomberg helped us in the 2014 election, not just getting out the vote.

http://gov.oregonlive.com/bill/2015/HB3212/

We need to make them aware that we as voters will also hold them accountable. Time to call your senator today to have them vote no, and tell them that they should pay attention to what's happening nationally with the TPP to see how Democrats are starting to realize that supporting "free trade" could get national congress critters in trouble, and that it will likely affect them at the state level too.