Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,651,178 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Budget woes still rising as veto showdown nears.


Byline: DAVID David, in the Bible
David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure.
 STEVES The Register-Guard

SALEM - Regardless of how lawmakers deal with Gov. John Kitzhaber's vetoes of a pair of budget bills, there's one thing they - along with parents, students, educators and others - can count on:

More budget uncertainty.

Thanks to a shaky economy and a pair of measures on the September ballot, the Legislature could be faced with a budget hole of up to $500 million or more. And that's if lawmakers deliver a stinging, unprecedented rebuke to Gov. John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5 1947 in Colfax, Washington) is a physician, member of the Democratic Party and former two term Governor of Oregon. He graduated from South Eugene High School in 1965, Dartmouth College in 1969, and then Oregon Health & Science University with a  on Friday by overriding (programming) overriding - Redefining in a child class a method or function member defined in a parent class.

Not to be confused with "overloading".
 his vetoes of two budget bills they approved in a June special session.

Should the Legislature fail to rally the two-thirds majorities in both chambers for the two bills, an additional $317 million will be added to the tally of budget woes.

On paper, that adds up to $817 million. Should additional forest fires This is a list of notorious forest fires: North America

Year Size Name Area Notes
1825 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) Miramichi Fire New Brunswick Killed 160 people.
 force the state to burn through its $43 million wildfire insurance policy, it could end up exhausting what's left of its emergency fund, adding a few million dollars more to the red-ink tote board tote board
n.
A large, usually electrically operated board that displays changing numerical information, such as betting payoffs or voting results.
.

The $817 million figure isn't as large as the $860 million shortfall lawmakers faced in their June special session or the $845 million budget gap they spent two special sessions filling in February and March.

But it's big enough to cause legislators to shudder at the thought of once again returning to Salem for a special session.

"We have not had good choices in front of us and have had difficult choices to make every step of the way," said Sen. Susan Castillo Susan Castillo (born August 14 1951) heads the Oregon Department of Education as the Superintendent of Public Instruction.[1] Although she currently holds an elective statewide non-partisan office, she is a Democrat, and served from 1997 to 2003 in the Oregon State , D-Eugene, as she reviewed the long road leading up to next week's special session and the possibility of another session in September. "And then, here we go again."

With Friday's showdown between Kitzhaber and the Legislature looming looming: see mirage. , it's difficult for statehouse state·house also state house  
n.
A building in which a state legislature holds sessions; a state capitol.


statehouse
Noun

NZ a rented house built by the government

Noun 1.
 players to separate the fate of the two budget bills on the agenda from the possibility of more bad budget news just around the corner.

Kitzhaber's chief of staff, Steve Marks, said lawmakers are whistling whistling

high-pitched respiratory sound made by forced breathing through a very narrow opening; usually indicative of stenosis of a passage.
 past the graveyard if they think they can make their problems disappear by undoing the governor's two vetoes.

"If they override An arrangement whereby commissions are made by sales managers based upon the sales made by their subordinate sales representatives. A term found in an agreement between a real estate agent and a property owner whereby the agent keeps the right to receive a commission for the sale of  the governor's vetoes, we still anticipate that they'll be back here in September to deal with the shortfall," he said.

Kitzhaber's vetoes struck down one bill that sells $50 million in bonds to pay for education and another that lets the state put off $267 million in payments to public schools and community college districts until the next budget cycle, then lets those districts borrow money until the delayed funding arrives.

Marks said that if legislators side with the governor and let his vetoes stand, they will have a chance at a subsequent special session in September to craft a temporary income-tax referral that could replace money lost to the vetoes and offset an anticipated drop in tax revenue caused by the poor economy.

Those who oppose Kitzhaber's vetoes, however, contend the upcoming budgetary wild cards Symbols used to represent any value when selecting specific files. In DOS, Windows and Unix, the asterisk (*) represents any collection of characters, and the question mark (?) represents one single character. In SQL, the percent sign (%) and underscore (_) are used for matching text.  are precisely the reason his decision to veto two key bills is a problem.

Kitzhaber, who could have vetoed the bills in early July, instead waited until just before his 30-day deadline was set to expire, as it did Friday. Now, when lawmakers return to Salem next week, they will be only two weeks removed from the date that mail ballots start going out to voters for the Sept. 17 special election.

Those ballots will ask voters to approve a $150 million appropriation The designation by the government or an individual of the use to which a fund of money is to be applied. The selection and setting apart of privately owned land by the government for public use, such as a military reservation or public building.  to schools from a rainy-day fund and to increase tobacco-tax revenues by $115 million for the current budget through a 60-cent boost in the tax on each pack of cigarettes. The cigarette-tax increase also would provide new money to pay back the $50 million in bonds that Kitzhaber vetoed. If his veto is overridden but the tax measure fails, the state would have to repay the debt through its existing cigarette tax.

Castillo, who was elected in May as the next state schools superintendent, said she's worried that lawmakers won't be able to concentrate on campaigning for those two measures.

"What's so frustrating frus·trate  
tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates
1.
a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart:
 for me right now is, we're focusing on these vetoes when all of us should be working on a united effort to assure that everything we sent to the ballot passes," she said. "That's where all of our focus and energy should be."

Even with the vetoes, the anticipated revenue shortfall and the uncertainty surrounding next month's election, some lawmakers are holding out hope that they might be able to limit their time in session to one day next week to deal with Kitzhaber's vetoes.

For them, the best-case scenario works like this: Lawmakers override both of Kitzhaber's vetoes. When the next revenue forecast comes out Aug. 29, it shows a shortfall of $175 million or less. Voters pass the two measures on the Sept. 17 ballot and the fire season calms down.

Thanks to a last-minute addition to the bonding bill - which under this scenario would be revived re·vive  
v. re·vived, re·viv·ing, re·vives

v.tr.
1. To bring back to life or consciousness; resuscitate.

2. To impart new health, vigor, or spirit to.

3.
 by the Legislature - the state can sell up to $175 million in lottery-backed bonds to cover revenue shortfalls during the remainder of the current budget cycle.

Chuck Bennett, a lobbyist for school administrators, said that would be an ideal scenario.

Bennett is confident the Legislature will override both vetoes. And after that, he and other education advocates are counting on a winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins
streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies"
 that keeps lawmakers out of the Capitol Capitol, seat of the U.S. Congress
Capitol, seat of the U.S. government at Washington, D.C. It is the city's dominating monument, built on an elevated site that was chosen by George Washington in consultation with Major Pierre L'Enfant.
 until the next regular session convenes in January.

"We would like to have them come to the Capitol for about a two-hour special session and then a vote and go home, and not come back again," Bennett said. "If they have to come back again, that would be just genuinely a mess."

WHERE THEY STAND

Here are the positions of Lane County legislators on whether to override or sustain Gov. John Kitzhaber's vetoes of two budget bills. One of the bills would provide $267 million to schools by shifting a state payment to schools and community colleges from the current budget to the next one.

Sen. Susan Castillo, D-Eugene:

Shift bill: override

Bonding bill: override

Sen. Tony Corcoran, D-Cottage Grove:

Shift bill: sustain

Bonding bill: sustain

Rep. Bob Ackerman, D-Eugene:

Shift bill: override

Bonding bill: sustain

Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene:

Shift bill: undecided

Bonding bill: undecided

Rep. Terry Beyer, D-Springfield:

Shift bill: undecided

Bonding bill: undecided

Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Fall Creek:

Shift bill: override

Bonding bill: override

Rep. Al King, D-Springfield:

Shift bill: sustain

Bonding bill: sustain

Rep. Jeff Kruse, R-Sutherlin:

Shift bill: override

Bonding bill: sustain

Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield:

Shift bill: sustain

Bonding bill: sustain

Rep. Vicki Walker Vicki Walker (Born on May 29, 1956 in Monroe, Washington) is a politician from the U.S. state of Oregon and a member of the Democratic Party. She has been elected to political office in both houses of the Oregon Legislature. , D-Eugene:

Shift bill: undecided

Bonding bill: undecided
COPYRIGHT 2002 The Register Guard
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2002, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:Revenue: Lawmakers will have to bail more red ink, even if the overrides succeed.; Legislature
Publication:The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Date:Aug 10, 2002
Words:1102
Previous Article:Outdoor Digest.(Recreation)
Next Article:Eugene extends its record.(Sports)



Related Articles
Budget may not be rousing success.(Legislature)(Next steps: Voters and the governor must now sign off on the Legislature's rebalancing plan.)
House jockeys over school funds.(Legislature)(Budget: The emergency session remains stalled without the votes to override a veto.)
Get the job done - now!(Editorials)(Legislature must resolve vetoes today)(Editorial)
Veto override votes.(Legislature)
School officials relieved, but still worried after votes.(Schools)
One veto falls, one survives.(Government)(State budget: Lawmakers settle one funding battle only to get more bad fiscal news.)
Next: Session No. 5.(Editorials)(Lawmakers finally resolve face-off over vetoes)(Editorial)
Increase in taxes still out of favor.(Government)(Budget: Lawmakers say a rise in the income tax remains an unpopular balancing act.)
Rancor marks talks to remedy budget shortfall.(Legislature)
Stop the meltdown.(Editorials)(Legislature, governor must address new shortfall)(Editorial)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles