Oregon AG Testified to Support State Legislation on PCB Clean-Up and Right-to-Repair Bills

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum testified before the Oregon Legislature to support three bills, including legislation addressing PCB clean-up and consumers’ right to repair their appliances. The first bill, which the AG described as the “most impactful” of the three, would establish an “Oregon Environmental Restoration Fund” using funds from the AG’s $698 million PCB settlement with Monsanto for polluting the state with PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, which are a type of toxic, man-made chemical that is extremely resistant to breaking down. In her testimony, AG Rosenblum explained that the “endowment was crafted with the understanding that the harms caused by PCBs have not affected Oregon communities equally,” and stated that a quarter would go to the Disproportionately Impacted Communities Fund and another quarter to the Tribal Nation Natural Resource Program Fund. The other bill the AG testified in support of was a “right-to-repair” bill which would protect consumers’ right to repair phones, computers, and other electronics independently, rather than under the strict conditions put in place by many manufacturers.