Measures 66 & 67 approved by voters
Oregon Legislature convenes in Salem for special session
From our weekly issue dated February 03, 2010
Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland) admits that the last several weeks have been difficult for him.
As chairman of the Legislature’s budget-writing Ways & Means Committee, Buckley was preparing for the likelihood of Measures 66 and 67 failing. Those measures were a referendum on a pair of tax increases passed by the Legislature last year, when the state was facing declining revenues.
But fortunately for Buckley, Oregon voters approved the measures in a special election on Tuesday, Jan. 26 by a 54 to 46 percent margin. It’s anticipated that the measures will raise approximately $733 million by upping the income tax rate for higher-income Oregonians and increasing taxes on some corporations.
Had the measures failed, Buckley said that he and other committee members were prepared to make a series of reductions to state programs.
“It would have been very ugly, particularly in the human services area,” Buckley said. “Those things have given me nightmares.”
He said that he spent the first three weeks of January working with the Legislative Fiscal Office and his budget-writing colleagues to develop a plan based on a worst-case scenario. Now, Buckley and the rest of the Legislature are set to start the February session without the added budgetary pressures for which they initially had prepared.
“This gives us the chance to keep the state budget intact, make it through the recession and get the tools to work with to try and build on the other side of it,” he said. “It’s a tremendous relief that the voters of Oregon chose a different path and decided not to cut services and schools.”
Less enthused about the results of the election was Rep. Dennis Richardson (R-Central Point), who also sits on the Ways & Means Committee.
Richardson likened the tax hikes to burning the roof of a house to keep it warm: There is an immediate benefit, but long-term consequences.
“The message that this sends to those who expand businesses, make investments and create jobs is, ‘Stay away from Oregon’,” Richardson said. He added that passage of the measures “changes the emphasis” of the February session.
“It allows us to focus on what’s truly important — putting Oregonians back to work,” Richardson said.
Aside from Buckley, the results of the election were heralded by Gov. Kulongoski. In a Tuesday, Jan. 26 press release, Kulongoski thanked voters for opting to “protect critical services during this difficult economic period.”
He added, “Even with this result, we still have some challenges before us. It is going to be a slow growth recovery from this recession for Oregon and the entire nation.
“Tomorrow is a new day and we must make a commitment to put our differences aside and work together to make the best choices we can for Oregon’s collective future.”
On Wednesday, Jan. 27, Kulongoski characterized the measures as a short-term fix to the state’s budgetary woes, and called for reform to the state’s kicker policy.
Under the kicker, tax revenues beyond those forecasted by the state economist are returned to citizens. Any change to the policy would require an amendment to the state’s Constitution.
Kulongoski has proposed using a portion of the kickers to build an emergency reserve fund that could be used “only in emergencies.” The fund would be placed in an interest-bearing account, and Kulongoski added that he would like to ensure that it can never be depleted in a single budget period.
Buckley said that he is not sure if kicker reform would be part of the February session’s agenda.
“It depends on the public’s mood and also whether there’s a willingness from the folks on the other side of the aisle to engage,” Buckley said. “The initial response from the House Republicans was ‘No’.”
Richardson agreed that members of his party, who are in the super-minority in the House and Senate, are reluctant to address the issue this year.
“The Democrats might move in that direction,” Richardson said. “But I think the special session should only deal with issues that can’t wait until the normal 2011 session.”
The session is scheduled to start on Monday, Feb. 1 and last around four weeks.
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