Notwithstanding last week’s optimistic revenue forecast, which essentially balanced the State Budget for 2013-15, the whisper around the Capitol is that our Democratic leaders are planning to raise taxes without meeting the constitutional requirement for a three-fifths vote. The plan is to draft a two-part bill that will (1) reduce state revenue by extending tax credits [...]
When is a tax not a tax? It depends on who you ask. This week, we took a vote on House Bill 3477. The stated purpose of this bill was to close tax loopholes for out of state banks. But like many issues, this is more complicated than that. In the 1990s, there were around [...]
Every school district in Oregon is up against a firm deadline to have its budget finalized and passed by the end of June. That process is already beginning at the local level. School districts, however, receive most of their funding from the state. They need to know right away how much to expect so they [...]
Last week we called for an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to addressing our state’s budget crisis to stop teacher layoffs and cuts to classrooms. Much has happened in Salem on budget negotiations since we wrote last week. Governor Kitzhaber made a call for action to legislators on both sides of the aisle: compromise. He [...]
Less than 24 hours before the release of the state’s latest revenue forecast, Gov. Kitzhaber held a press conference, in which he expressed support for higher taxes on Oregon business. This comes after a bad month for many big businesses throughout the state. Integra is moving its corporate headquarters from Portland to Vancouver, Wash. The [...]
Our most elderly citizens deserve our respect and attention. They deserve, whenever possible, the opportunity to live and die in familiar surroundings, in their own homes. To help our senior citizens remain in their homes the state provides Oregon Project Independence and federal in-home health care programs. Helping our older generation transition from life through [...]
Oregon’s May revenue forecast was released Thursday and showed an increase of $271 million over previous estimates. Along with $1.5 billion in increased tax collections we already knew about, plus $260 million set aside in the current budget, Oregon will have over $2 billion more for this budget. As a member of the budget-writing Ways [...]
It’s no secret that Oregon’s schools are in desperate need of increased funding. Reinvesting and stabilizing schools and reducing class sizes are our top priorities this session in Salem. We have a historic opportunity to reinvest in education, and we believe it’s time to embrace the proposals to make that happen. Today, Oregon has the [...]
One of our top priorities this session is getting people back to work and helping small businesses grow in our area. So we were glad to read new data from the US Department of Labor last week that showed Oregon is making strides towards a strong economy and getting Oregonians back to work. The report [...]
Ever so often, a piece of legislation is required to correct a situation, even though it should never have been necessary in the first place. On May 2, the Oregon House of Representatives passed House Bill 3434 on a unanimous 56-0 vote. I sponsored this bill in response to a specific issue in Medford. A [...]
