About the 2007 Environmental Scorecard

The OLCV Scorecard

This is OLCV’s 18^th Environmental Scorecard for the Oregon Legislature. The goal of the Scorecard is to provide objective factual information about the voting records of Oregon’s Senators and Representatives. OLCV’s mission is to educate the public about the environmental voting records of elected officials and to hold those decision-makers accountable.

How The 2007 Scorecard Votes Were Chosen

Experts from Oregon’s environmental organizations nominated votes to include in the Scorecard. A volunteer committee reviewed these nomination to identify votes that (1) presented a clear choice about whether or not to protect the environment, (2) reflected a cross-section of the environmental issues addressed during the session, and (3) were viewed as important by a range of conservation groups.

The Scorecard is designed to provide voters with the information to separate true stewards of Oregon’s environment from those who just talk about it.

Therefore, the scorecard only includes votes where there was a significant lobbying effort by conservationists as well as opponents, making it known to legislators that they were facing a clear choice. OLCV does not score votes where, because of the nature of the lobbying effort, there was some apparent confusion regarding a bill’s impact on the environment. Votes on the positive bills in the Oregon Conservation Network’s Priorities for a Healthy Oregon that had a floor letter issued were scored.

The final decision on what votes to score was made by OLCV’s Board of Directors. We wish to thank the many volunteers who helped compile and review the Scorecard for their valuable input.