Early budget agreement a good sign for Oregon.Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Karen Minnis Karen Minnis (R-Wood Village) is a Republican politician in Oregon, U.S.A. She has been a member of the Oregon House of Representatives since 1998, and served as Speaker of the House from 2003 to 2006. For The Register-Guard Few Oregonians were aware of it, but something truly historic happened at the state 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. on March 2: Legislative leaders from the House and Senate agreed on a budget of $12.393 billion for the 2005-07 biennium bi·en·ni·um n. pl. bi·en·ni·ums or bi·en·ni·a A two-year period. [Latin : bi-, two; see bi-1 + annus, year; see at- . It may not sound exciting. Many people see the word "biennium" in print and run. But the agreement is big news because it happened on March 2, and not on June 2 or July 2. Historically, a decision on how much to spend isn't reached until the daffodils and tulips have long since bloomed. More often than not, it's an event that coincides with high school graduation ceremonies. By last week's agreement - signed by key House and Senate leaders - Republicans and Democrats saved us months of wrangling over the size of the budget. We can now get down to the important business of deciding how best to spend taxpayers' money. We have set a goal of April 4 to release the Legislature's budget plan. The $12.393 billion budget we agreed to represents a responsible amount that can be reached within the state's existing revenues. Oregonians have repeatedly said they're not interested in raising taxes. Legislators need to respect their wishes. This Legislature has about $1.2 billion more to spend than the previous Legislature had at its disposal. That's a significant increase that will allow us to target investments in the services Oregonians want: schools; public safety; and a health care safety net for seniors, the poor and those who cannot care for themselves. Two years ago, Oregon's economy was in a free-fall. The state lost tens of thousands of jobs and, as a result, millions of dollars in tax revenue. Thankfully, times have changed. Our economy is improving, and the state learned two weeks ago that it will have more money than previously thought available for the next budget. In addition, the Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. has ruled favorably fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. for the state in an important case that could have blown large holes in the next budget. In its March 8 ruling, the Supreme Court largely upheld important reforms of the Public Employees Retirement System enacted by the Legislature in 2003. Those reforms put PERS a. 1. Light blue; grayish blue; - a term applied to different shades at different periods. on the track to fiscal stability, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Any financial liability to the state from portions of the reforms overturned by the court can be covered safely by reserve funds held by the PERS board. The PERS decision was the last significant outstanding variable that might have had an impact on the budget. Now the state's budget writers - the co-chairmen of the Joint Ways and Means WAYS AND MEANS. In legislative assemblies there is usually appointed a committee whose duties are to inquire into, and propose to the house, the ways and means to be adopted to raise funds for the use of the government. This body is called the committee of ways and means. Committee - can craft a balanced budget Balanced budget A budget in which the income equals expenditure. See: budget. balanced budget A budget in which the expenditures incurred during a given period are matched by revenues. by April 4. Oregon's improving economy, the court's PERS ruling and an early agreement on state spending by legislative leaders combine to signal hope that we can build a responsible budget early - and in so doing, help restore accountability and credibility to state government. Working together, Republicans and Democrats can fund Oregonians' priorities without reaching further into their wallets. Rep. Karen Minnis (R-Wood Village) is speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. . |
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