FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anthony Smith, NFIB Oregon State Director, anthony.smith@nfib.org
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

SALEM, Ore., April 17, 2026—Oregon’s leading small business association today announced its participation in a lawsuit against the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) aimed at stopping the state’s Climate Protection Program (CPP). The National Federation of Independent Business, Inc. (NFIB) is joined by other business and labor associations, as well as by individual small businesses, in the lawsuit.

“Oregon’s Climate Protection Program affects every sector of Oregon’s economy and will impose rising costs on businesses. For many small businesses, these added costs can’t just be passed on to their customers,” said Anthony Smith, state director for NFIB in Oregon.

“Unless the program is scrapped, these higher energy costs will make Oregon businesses less competitive and ultimately cost us jobs. Because of the draconian costs imposed on businesses, consumers will feel the pain of the CPP. The authority to set tax and environmental policy should belong to the Oregon Legislature and not the Executive Branch as a sole actor. Legislators should restore to Oregonians meaningful control over regulatory policy that affects their daily lives.”

In an NFIB Small Business Energy Survey released in February, 53% of small business owners said energy costs were very significant to the operation of their enterprises, and 42% say these costs have increased significantly in the last three years.

Keep up with the latest Oregon small business news at www.nfib.com or on X at @NFIB_OR

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

National Federation of Independent Business
1149 Court Street NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-364-4450
NFIB.com
X: NFIB_OR