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Thus, there are two authority issues in Oregon regarding requiring the MPOs other than Portland Metro to use scenario planning to reduce transportation GHG emissions – (1) whether the state currently has authority under state law to direct the planning work of MPOs and (2) how to ensure that local governments act upon the findings of the scenario planning. Oregon law, unlike laws in many other states, does not formally authorize MPOs or guide their work. Additional analysis of Oregon laws is needed to determine MPO status and whether changes to state statute are needed. Oregon law may need to be amended to formally recognize MPOs and define their planning responsibilities.Once MPO authority is established, the state could impose additional requirements to implement scenario planning to reduce GHG emissions. Because MPOs are also subject to federal law, it is likely that any state statutes addressing the role of MPOs would have to clarify that any inconsistency between state and federal requirements would be resolved by the federal requirements controlling. The Task Force notes that other states have adopted statutes successfully addressing this issue. MPOs’ authority over local jurisdictions is addressed partially and indirectly through MPOs existing authority to approve projects in the TIP/MTIP. In addition, the state should look at some of its planning requirements for local jurisdictions and by legislation or rulemaking require compliance with MPO determinations related to GHG reduction. Short of that, additional discussion and engagement with local jurisdictions will be needed to create a process to realize the recommendations developed through MPO GHG reduction planning processes within locally adopted land use plans. Improved information about “Best Planning Practices” for GHG reduction. Local governments and MPOs need more detailed information on effectiveness of specific land use and transportation actions in reducing GHG emissions that are within their control to carry out. State-level guidelines and technical assistance are needed to help document and catalog effective actions and help simplify development and evaluation of scenarios. The good news is that evidence about benefits of land use and transportation strategies in reducing xvi GHG is growing rapidly.National studies, such as Growing Cooler, and similar work in other states, notably California’s work implementing scenario planning under its SB 375, provide a good model for work in Oregon. Improved tools for modeling & analysis . Planning decisions are guided in large part by computer models that estimate how the transportation system will operate in the future. Existing transportation models do not have all the needed capabilities for estimating the GHG reduction benefits from different land use and transportation actions. Improved models and other tools – such as sketch planning tools that can estimate GHG emissions of different land use or transportation measures - will be needed to help MPOs craft effective GHG reduction plans. At the same time, the Task Force notes that modeling is constantly evolving. Existing models and studies do provide useful information about benefits of land use and transportation actions to consider GHG impacts, as we make major planning decisions. As new and improved tools become available we can update our plans accordingly. Modeling resource needs are not strictly financial, but are also affected by a lack of qualified, trained professionals. The schedule for scenario planning needs to allow Page 23