Legislative Sessions Report from Sen. Betsy Close

Sen. Betsy Close has written a summary of key votes from the 2013 Regular Session and all votes from the September Special Session. Let's help Sen. Close circulate this document. Please share with any person or group you think would be interested. Thank you!

Sen. Close: 2013 Regular and Special Sessions Report Read More......

Kropf: Why I oppose the grand bargain

Jeff Kropf at Oregon Catalyst:

It’s because it doesn’t solve the PERS problem that is robbing teachers from classrooms, taking cops and firefighters off the streets and causing criminals to be released, all of which hurts Oregonians. This back room deal only kicks the can down the road. ✧ This is especially true when you consider that Democrats and their union bosses are counting on Oregon judges, (enrolled in PERS) throwing out the savings in this deal, leaving the damage to Oregonians continuing into the future.

Read more at Oregon Catalyst... Read More......

Oregon: Lawmakers Must Address Revenue Shortfall

Press release by the Senate Republican Office issued August 26,2010. Contact: Jonathan Thompson (503) 986-1957

Lawmakers Must Address Revenue Shortfall Salem, OR – Thursday lawmakers received news the state’s expected revenues are down another $377.5 million. This brings the total decline since the end of the 2009 Legislative Session to $1.268 billion. Still, the halls of the State Capitol in Salem remain largely empty. Senator Chris Telfer (R-Bend) wants to change that and renewed Republican calls for an emergency session of the Oregon Legislature. ∴ “It is long past time for members of the Legislature to return to Salem and do the job for which we were elected,” said Telfer, who serves on the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee that received the revenue forecast. “Allowing another round of across-the-board reductions to all agencies is just plain wrong.”

The Governor has the ability to deal with budget shortfalls by reducing all budgets equally, regardless of priority to Oregonians. After the last revenue forecast agency heads were directed to cut 9% from their budgets. At the Department of Human Services, which has a total budget of more than $15 billion, the reductions included ending programs like Oregon Project Independence which helps keep seniors in their homes and out of more expensive nursing homes. The total cost of this vital program was just $7.6 million out of a $15 billion budget for the department.

“We have seen too many cases where state agencies look to punish Oregonians for revenue shortfalls by cutting the most vital programs first,” said Senator Bruce Starr (R-Hillsboro). “It is long past time for legislative leadership to step up and do the work Oregonians expect.”

Should the Legislature come into emergency session, one option for budget reductions include removing just the general fund money from the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). The savings this biennium would be about $7 million and could be used to fund a more important program like Oregon Project Independence. Any functions DLCD is no longer able to afford would fall to counties which have a vested interest in the local economy.

“We must make sure anything we fund from this point forward helps create jobs,” said Telfer. “We will not fix our budget problems until we get Oregon families back to work.” Republicans in the Legislature are in the process of putting together plan to help balance the state budget without the need for across the board cuts. Read More......

Oregon House: Bipartisan Legislation Passed in Special Session

In his March 5, 2010 newsletter, State Representative Greg Smith (R-HD 57) reports on bipartisan legislation passed during the February Special Session by the Oregon House of Representatives. See legislation...

• House Republicans pushed for legislation that would require legislators to wait before they can take high-paying positions in the executive branch. Though we were successful in passing the bill through the House, it was killed by Senate Democrats (HB 3638).
  
  
• To help unemployed workers, House Republicans supported extending unemployment
  benefits to an estimated 18,600 Oregonians who were about to exhaust their existing benefits (HB 3655).
  
  
• We supported giving tax credits to laid-off workers to obtain state tax deductions for investing their severance pay in starting an Oregon-based business (HB 3627).
  
  
• House Republicans supported legislation to prohibit insurers from denying coverage to sexual assault victims by treating their injuries as a preexisting condition (HB 3631).
  
  
• We worked to reform the Business Energy Tax Credit, which the Governor allowed to
  spiral out of control. We believe that savings from BETC reform should be re-directed to schools and other critical services (HB 3680).
  
  
• To fight waste and abuse in government, we supported expanding “whistleblower”
  protections for state employees (SB 996).
  
  
• House Republicans supported giving district attorney greater discretion in offering qualified veterans the option of diversion programs when convicted of certain crimes (SB 999).

Read More......

Legislative leaders speak out on special session

OREGON POLITICO, 2/28/2010 - [Excerpt] Roseburg Republican Bruce Hanna, House Minority Leader, made clear his frustrations on the legislature’s attempts to improve job creation in the state. ∴ “There was a lot of talk about creating jobs, but the only jobs that were created this session were 200 new government positions that’ll be difficult for us to sustain in the future,” stated Hanna. ∴ “It’s unfortunate that rather than curbing spending, legislative leaders drained reserves, increased state debt and then called for a federal bailout for the next budget.” Read more at Oregon Politico... Read More......