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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 3, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 27, 2005 State budget deal ... in June? By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — It’s crunch time at the Capitol. In little more than a week, the co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget-writing Ways and Means Committee are scheduled to release their spending proposal for the upcoming biennium. The agreed-upon total — $12.393 billion — is some $200 million shy of forecast revenues. There are sharp divisions over the level of school support, and funding for human services. But even with the uncertainties, Jackson County legislators by and large are predicting a June adjournment, two months earlier than the record-breaking 2003 Legislature, which ended in August. "When we have a balanced budget agreement for the next biennium, then the Legislature will end," said Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, chairman of the human services subcommittee of Ways and Means. Advertisement "Potentially possible," said Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, of a June adjournment — "if we don’t lock up on K-12 funding." School spending takes just more than half of the general fund, followed by human services. Democrats are seeking $5.4 billion for K-12, while Republicans are proposing $5 billion. "The big discussion is K-12," said Bates, who also serves on Ways and Means. He said Democrats will push "extremely hard" for the higher figure. Other problem areas include dollars for human resources and public safety. "We have a situation that, despite an improving revenue picture, there still is not enough money to pay for state programs," Bates said. A new revenue forecast is due in May. Bates said his greatest fear is that the two parties will lock up on the K-12 budget and the joint House-Senate committee will be split in two. House Speaker Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village, threatened to do just that when Democrats and Republicans could not agree on total spending. That resolved itself with signed pledges from the House and Senate leadership, and the Ways and Means co-chairs settling on the $12.393 billion figure. "For the first time we have a written agreement on the slice of the pie," said Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford. But Esquivel, who serves on the Revenue Committee, couldn’t resist his own priorities. "I want proper funding for Head Start and I want proper funding for Project Independence," said Esquivel, who is predicting a mid-June date to get out of town. Project Independence is a state program to help seniors remain in their own homes but get help paying for personal assistance services. Head Start is a program designed to help at-risk children aged 3-5 prepare for school. Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, is worried that unless the Legislature picks up the pace on other bills, many will die at adjournment. "There are a lot of important issues that need to be addressed, particularly health issues," he said. A week ago he and other committee vice-chairs expressed concern over the meager output on non-budget bills. "But this week it looks like things are revving up, particularly in the Judiciary, Education and Business, Labor and Consumer Affairs committees," he said. Another sign the session may be winding down is a memorandum from Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, to close down Senate committees by the end of April. No such directive has been issued by the House. Once the co-chairs’ budget is released, subcommittees will hold another round of public hearings assigning dollars to specific programs. That’s when pressure from lobbyists and state agency personnel will kick in big-time. A major stumbling block could be in funding programs for the poor, disabled, children and the elderly. For example, said Richardson, the governor low-balled the elderly clients in order to come up with a balanced budget in January. "In reality, the caseload is up," he said, "and that will require a ‘reshoot’ to come up with an additional $30 to $50 million." Bates, who serves on the human services subcommittee, was critical of having to prioritize programs administered by the Department of Human Services, calling it an "exercise in futility." "That doesn’t help when you’re dealing with people’s lives," he said. Asked about progress being made and a possible June adjournment, Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, said things were going as smoothly as they can "with a system that is broken." Atkinson had introduced a bill to require early approval of the K-12 appropriation — usually the last budget item to pass — or legislators would lose their pay and per diem. As expected, it went nowhere. "If my bill was in play, that budget would be done on Wednesday," he observed. Added Atkinson, "I love the process, but the process doesn’t work very well." Don Jepsen is a free-lance writer living in Salem. 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