Eugene Clean Energy Fund: Ballot Initiative

Eugene voters will decide this November whether to establish the Eugene Clean Energy Fund, a proposed program intended to provide long-term funding for local climate action, energy efficiency, renewable energy, green infrastructure, and clean-energy workforce development.

The measure would impose a 2% license fee on the Eugene gross profits of large retailers with more than $1 billion in annual national gross profits and at least $500,000 in annual gross profits from retail sales within Eugene. Groceries, medicines, residential garbage and recycling services, and health care services would be excluded from the calculation. Revenue would be placed in a dedicated fund, with recommendations for expenditures made by a nine-member committee.

Supporters argue the measure would create a substantial, dedicated source of funding to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions while expanding access to clean-energy investments and jobs. Opponents raise concerns about consumer costs, economic impacts, accountability, and whether the proposal would produce measurable emissions reductions.

City Club of Eugene will bring representatives of the supporting and opposing campaigns together to examine these competing arguments and answer questions about what the measure could mean for Eugene residents, businesses, and climate policy. The forum will be moderated by Zac Ziegler, a KLCC reporter.