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--> --> Special session: GOP brass say agreement will be hard to reach By Charles E. Beggs Associated Press Writer SALEM - Lawmakers bracing for a special session starting Wednesday are under duress from the governor and from anti-tax interests as they wrestle with an $880 million budget shortfall. Gov. John Kitzhaber on Monday called the session although lawmakers hadn't reached an accord on how to plug the budget hole. Kitzhaber said timing is important because a cigarette tax increase needs to be passed by Friday to maximize revenue from that step. "I think we had no choice but to come in this week and keep the pressure on," said Senate Minority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland. Legislators of both parties generally are supporting raising the cigarette tax. But the Oregon Republican Party has turned up heat of its own by erecting roadside signs urging legislators to reject tax increases. "It raises awareness," said Darryl Howard, executive director of the party. "Tax increases are not the solution." No consensus has been reached on plugging the second big budget hole that has been carved this year, mainly by recession-spurred declines in income tax revenue. "I think we're a long ways from agreement," said Senate President Gene Derfler, R-Salem. In another development Monday, Kitzhaber officially imposed a hiring freeze for agency positions financed with general funds. The move wasn't seen as having a major effect since agencies have been under general orders from the governor's office to hold down spending since last fall. "It formalizes stuff we've done earlier," Kitzhaber spokesman Bob Applegate said. Kitzhaber also barred out-of-state travel that would spend general funds, which makes up about one-third of the total state budget. Kitzhaber's budget-balancing plan is centered on a three-year income tax increase. He also proposed a 50-cent per pack cigarette tax increase. Lawmakers are considering a plan first advanced by House Speaker Mark Simmons, R-Elgin, that includes a 75-cent cigarette tax boost but no income tax hike. "I believe it would fail at the polls," Simmons said of the income tax proposal. Kitzhaber, in a speech prepared for delivery Monday to a Corvallis meeting of the Oregon AFL-CIO, balked at the higher cigarette tax proposal. "Smokers did not cause this recession," he said. "If some additional revenue is needed, I believe the burden should be spread as broadly as possible." Besides the 75-cent cigarette tax increase, a draft plan considered by party caucuses includes about $100 million in spending cuts, delaying state adoption of a federal business depreciation tax break and asking voters to pass a scaled-down version of a school funding measure they defeated last month. 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