Document text
SUNNY Temp: 55 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 14, 2002 Senate rejects bond package State bills will return to panel for reworking By DANI DODGE Mail Tribune SALEM — After three failed attempts to cover the state’s half-billion-dollar deficit by raising taxes, the Oregon House Friday slapped a credit card on the counter and said: "Charge it." How your representatives voted HB 4073 (Would have issued $400 million in bonds) House vote: Passed with a 33-26 vote. Alan Bates (D-Ashland): No Susan Morgan (R-Myrtle Point): Yes Rob Patridge (R-Medford): Yes Cherryl Walker (R-Murphy): Yes Carl Wilson (R-Grants Pass): Yes Senate vote: Failed with a 17-13 vote. Jason Atkinson (R-Jacksonville): Yes Lenn Hannon (R-Ashland): No HB 5100 (Would have made $82 million in cuts) House vote: Passed with a 31-25 vote. Alan Bates (D-Ashland): No Susan Morgan (R-Myrtle Point): Yes Rob Patridge (R-Medford): Yes Cherryl Walker (R-Murphy): Yes Carl Wilson (R-Grants Pass): Yes Senate vote: Failed with a 13-17 vote. Jason Atkinson (R-Jacksonville): Yes Lenn Hannon (R-Ashland): No The Senate, though, snatched the plastic away. "It’s just not good public policy," said Sen. Lenn Hannon, an Ashland Republican. "You’re pulling out your Visa to pay on your Mastercard." "The only certainty you’re getting out of that is the certainty you will have to pay for it. With interest." So now, after 13 days of the most acrimonious session legislators can remember, the Legislature is still trying to stave off the layoff of state troopers, the closure of group homes for the disabled, and the release of 4,000 felons. To plug the state’s $482 million budget hole, the bills would have borrowed $400 million from the state’s share of the national tobacco settlement and cut another $82 million from the state’s $11 billion budget. Today, the bills will go back to the Senate’s budget committee for reworking. The House isn’t scheduled to meet again until Sunday. For a while Friday, it seemed as if there was true movement in the state Capitol. Propelled by Republican support, the budget bills passed the House on Friday afternoon, only to be defeated in the Senate late that same night. The two bills the House approved resembled a funding package first proposed by House Speaker Mark Simmons, an Elgin Republican. But in the first week of the session, he couldn’t round up the votes to pass it. And since budget bills normally must originate in the House, there was a stalemate. So Simmons allowed a Democratic plan to raise $407 million in increased income taxes to come to the floor. It went down in a lopsided vote. Moderate Democrats crafted a plan that combined taxes, bonds and cuts, but it also failed. Then Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber said Tuesday, with his hand raised as if in an oath, that he would allow up to $400 million in bonding. He later said the statement was taken out of context. But his retraction didn’t quell the excitement of Republicans, who saw their opportunity to bond their way out of the crisis. Not that they liked borrowing, but the bills’ sponsor, Ben Westlund, a Tumalo Republican, likened it to the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." "We sit in here and argue if the porridge is too hot, or is the porridge is too cold," Westlund said. "But the problem is Goldilocks better eat the damn porridge or she’s going to die." He said the true solution to the state’s budget crisis is tax reform, something he and others will continue to work on. Without a sales tax and limits on property taxes, the state’s funding relies heavily on income taxes, which are vulnerable to economic swings. But tax reform is for the next session and Rep. Susan Morgan, a Myrtle Creek Republican, said bonding $400 million is better than cutting the entire $482 million — which is what will happen if the Legislature doesn’t come up with a better plan. "We have a revenue stream to pay it off, a good bonding rate, and it softens the impact of cuts on people who use the services of this state," Morgan said. The cuts were distasteful to legislators, even to many who voted for it. The plan made $40 million in across-the-board cuts and $44 million in targeted cuts. Rep. Rob Patridge said: "Everyone’s ox is getting gored." But after an emotional meeting of Republicans on Thursday night, House members decided to band together, said Rep. Carl Wilson, a Grants Pass Republican. Wilson said he was particularly concerned about cuts to mental health services, seniors and state college scholarships. "We could wrestle over it forever, we realized," he said. "It’s either now or never on something this tough," It passed also, although Democrats didn’t like the across-the-board cuts. Rep. Alan Bates, an Ashland Democrat, pointed out that the cuts could allow agencies to dump some programs, like Oregon Project Independence, which provides help for frail seniors who want to remain in their homes. "We gave $40 million of cuts to agencies without any oversight ," he said. "They should be given $40 million and then we go through their plans line by line." When the plan got to the Senate, it was voted on without debate. Senators hope that now that the plan is in their hands, they can try to find the budget solution that has evaded the House for nearly two weeks. But deep divisions remain. Like the House, the Republican majority in the Senate is slim. Senate Democrats and some Republicans would like to balance the budget with some revenue increases, like a temporary income tax increase. But then, there’s a hard-core group of conservative Republicans who say they won’t raise taxes until pigs fly — they keep pink ceramic pigs on their desks as reminders. "I and a handful of colleagues remain committed to no new taxes," said Sen. Jason Atkinson, a Jacksonville Republican and a member of the pigs-don’t-fly-gang. "But the mere fact that the bill touches the floor means pigs are flying." Sen. Hannon said, "This is the most frustrated I’ve been in my 28 years as a legislator." Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S