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--> --> Lawmakers open up special session SALEM (AP) - Oregon's Legislature opened a special session today amid sharp differences over Gov. John Kitzhaber's proposal to increase some taxes to plug a recession-caused budget hole that keeps expanding. "We're going to stay here until we get our work done," Senate President Gene Derfler told his chamber this morning. "We may have some long days." Derfler later added, "We're going to have zero tolerance for any personal attacks" against other legislative members. The Senate then recessed for party caucus meetings. There was an air of pessimism in the House as the chamber opened its morning session. "The sense I have is we're heading for a trainwreck," said Rep. Dan Gardner, D-Portland. "People are too deeply entrenched." Kitzhaber on Thursday said new projections show the budget shortfall growing to at least $815 million - $100 million more than lawmakers had expected. Rep. Dan Doyle, R-Salem, said he believes the Republican-controlled House and Senate will pass budget-balancing bills that contain no new taxes, even if that means a certain veto by Kitzhaber. "I don't have a sense that anyone in the House Republican caucus wants to increase taxes," Doyle said. "No matter where the negotiations lead, we cannot have a tax increase." The special session opened in a subdued atmosphere, with no joint session, speeches or formal address by the governor as is customary in lawmakers' regular biennial meetings. The political backdrop is grim. Oregon was the first state in the nation to declare itself in a recession and has the country's highest unemployment rate. A sharp drop in income tax revenue has wreaked havoc on the $12 billion general fund-lottery budget. The Republican-led Legislature and the Democratic governor are proposing cuts in education and social services. But they part ways on taxes. Kitzhaber wants to raise taxes on cigarettes, beer and wine and delay a voter-passed raise in the federal income tax deduction. The GOP leaders say tax increases aren't needed and planned to push through a package including borrowing $100 million from a school trust fund. Kitzhaber has pledged to veto it. Republicans control the House 32-28 and the Senate on a 16-14 count. The thin margins make both parties nervous in an election year when they're fighting to control the 2003 Legislature. Kitzhaber, on the other hand, is in the final year of his two terms because he's barred by law from seeking re-election. "I just don't know what's going to happen on the budget," said Senate Democratic Leader Kate Brown of Portland. To bridge the wider budget gap, Kitzhaber proposed $30 million in additional cuts and a 50-cent per pack cigarette tax increase, instead of the 30-cent boost he first recommended. House and Senate Democrats back his 50-cent cigarette tax boost. They also want to exempt state school aid from cuts; Kitzhaber' plan would trim the $5.2 billion school support budget by $100 million. Other issues on the Legislature's agenda include competing highway bonding measures, an extension of unemployment benefits and a proposed ballot measure to compete with a new proposed initiative measure to limit legislative terms. The Oregon Supreme Court last month overturned a 1992 voter-passed term limits law on technical grounds. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing