Oregon House Republicans: Capitol Update 4/17/2009

Legislative Audits Bill Increases Accountability, Oversight of State Government
House Republicans today presented HB 2440 to create a Legislative Audits Office within the Oregon Legislature to conduct performance and management audits of state agencies and other state-funded programs. The bill, heard today in the House Administration Committee, would increase accountability and legislative oversight of state government.

"A new legislative audits office can help us establish measurable outcomes and goals, can help us make government work better and smarter, can help us be better watchdogs of the taxpayer's money," said Rep. Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer), the bill's chief sponsor. "In addition to rooting out any potential problems, we can also look for programs that are working and try to duplicate those systems."

HB 2440 creates the Legislative Audits Office as a new function of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. In addition to conducting management and performance audits, the office would be responsible for managing the Government Waste Hotline to investigate complaints about government waste and abuse.

Oregon currently gives the Secretary of State's Office the exclusive authority to audit state agencies. However, because the office is a part of the executive branch, House Republicans say the current system is incapable of producing independent analysis and data the Legislature can use to hold state agencies accountable.

"The Legislature is charged with writing budgets for tens of billions of dollars, yet we have no auditing authority over how those budgets are implemented," said House Republican Leader Bruce Hanna (R- Roseburg). "To leave all auditing authority to the very branch of government on which audits are supposed to be conducted doesn't make sense."

Rep. Thatcher said HB 2440 would enable Oregon to join all other states that have given their legislatures the ability to directly audit state agencies. She said a Legislative Audits Office would enable the Legislature to proactively root out fraud and abuse before they're exposed in the media.

"Oregon appears to be the only state without some kind of auditing office in the legislative branch," Rep. Thatcher said. "The concept of an audits office is not new, but it has gained in importance as the state budget becomes more complex and we discover more and more instances where this kind of auditing function would have been helpful."

HB 2440 does not create a new agency or require new state employees because the bill would transfer a portion of staff from the Secretary of State's Audits Division to the Legislative Audits Office. After today's hearing, the bill is pending further action by the House Administration Committee.

Restructuring Oregon's auditing process, allowing the legislature to better monitor the spending and performance is a key part of Building a Better Oregon, the House Republicans' 2009 agenda.

Read full story here.

Video: 'Dean of the Oregon House' Reflects on State's Status as Unemployment Leader

Rep. Bob Jenson (R-Pendleton), Dean of the Oregon House, rose on the Floor this week to lament Oregon's new status as a national leader in unemployment. In the clip, Rep. Jenson reflects on how the state's policies on businesses and natural resources have affected the economy. In closing, he said "It's time to change direction."



Democrats Kill More Oregon Jobs, Pass Bill to Stop New Destination Resorts

Democrats passed HB 2227 this week to eliminate local control over siting of new destination resorts, giving a state agency the ability to stop new resorts and the new family-wage jobs they would create in rural Oregon. Republicans said the bill, passed by the House on a partisan vote, undermines Oregon's land use system and will prolong the state's economic recession.

"Why are we passing this bill now, when Oregon has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation?" Rep. Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver) asked. "By discouraging future resort development, HB 2227 harms future economic development, future job creation and future tax revenues for our struggling rural communities." Watch Video

Rep. Sal Esquivel (R-Medford) said HB 2227 sends the wrong message to businesses looking to locate or expand in Oregon. Because the legislation makes it virtually impossible for new destination resorts to be approved, businesses will look elsewhere for developing new resorts and hiring people to build and staff the resorts.

"New destination resorts in our state under this legislation will be virtually impossible to establish," said Rep. Esquivel, a member of the House Land Use Committee. "Any destination resort that has not completed an application through their county planning commission will not make the grade when this legislation passes. We ask ourselves everyday what is going on at the Capitol this session- business development or business 'un-development?'"

House Land Use Committee member Rep. Matt Wingard (R-Wilsonville) said HB 2227 represents another broken promise to rural Oregon. Without the ability to manage natural resources or attract tourism, rural Oregon's economy will continue to suffer from the decisions made by out-of-touch Willamette Valley politicians.

"When the state began the process of shutting down hundreds of mills throughout Oregon under pressure from environmental groups, the message that was delivered to rural Oregonians at the time was 'don't worry, you'll have tourism,'" Rep. Wingard said. "Passage of this bill shows there is really no interest in helping rural communities to attract tourism. It turns out, Oregon's environmental community lied. I feel very badly for the people of rural Oregon whose economic situation is not going to improve anytime soon thanks to passage of this bill." Watch Video

Online List Reveals 118 Proposed Tax And Fee Increases

Oregonians rushed to file tax returns before Wednesday's deadline, House Republicans released a list of 118 proposed tax and fee increases that are currently under consideration in the Democratic-controlled Legislature this session. The list, available on the caucus' Web site, suggests no Oregonians are safe from the threat of higher taxes and fees during this economic recession.

"We learned Monday that Oregon's unemployment has risen to more than 12 percent, yet the few who remain in the state's workforce will soon send more of their hard-earned dollars to Salem," said House Republican Leader Bruce Hanna (R-Roseburg). "With Democrats in complete control of state government, the question is not whether taxes will be raised during this recession- but by how much."

The 2009 tax and fee list reveals new or increased income taxes, property taxes, health care taxes, and "sin" taxes, as well as new taxes on goods such as bird seed, computers and sporting equipment. Oregonians will also face higher tax burdens through the proposed elimination of dozens of tax credits and tax incentives and millions of dollars in new fees on everything from hunting licenses to death certificates.

As all private industrial sectors lose jobs, the Legislature is poised to raise dozens of tax and fee increases on Oregon's remaining businesses.

"Key industries are shedding jobs at a time when they are normally expected to be hiring," said Deputy Republican Leader Kevin Cameron (R-Salem). "With little demand in our economy, this is a bad time to take more money away from individuals and businesses."

Republican Whip Ron Maurer (R-Grants Pass) said House Republicans will call on the Legislature to refer major tax increases to the public for their approval.

"Oregonians expect the Legislature to fund core functions of government, and they deserve to have a voice on the hundreds of millions - potentially billions - of dollars in tax increases that are expected to pass this session," Rep. Maurer said. "Oregonians should choose whether massive tax increases are necessary for the long-term health of our state, or whether these tax increases further burden Oregonians in order to simply fulfill the Legislature's insatiable appetite for spending."

The 2009 Proposed Tax and Fee Increases list can be found here: tax bills.pdf. Check back for additions and updates as more bills are introduced or advanced through the legislative process.