Ferrioli, Kulongoski comment on revenue forecast

Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) issued the following statement in response to Monday’s revenue forecast:

“This revenue forecast makes it abundantly clear that Oregon families are still desperately looking for one thing: jobs.  The battle cry of jobs is on everyone’s lips, but is it in our actions?This session is more than a quarter over, and here is a partial list of what has passed the House and Senate floors:

            HB 3625 - Designates May of each year as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month

            HB 3629 - Specifies length of term for which pawnbroker may renew pledge loan

            HB 3672 - Designates elected county surveyor office as nonpartisan

            SB 993 - Requires payday lenders and title lenders to obtain license

SB 1002 - Increases annuity coverage by Oregon Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association

SB 1047 - Exempts from premium assessment premiums earned on health plan policies delivered or issued for delivery outside Oregon

“These might be good pieces of legislation, but they fail to address the number one concern in Oregon: getting people back to work.  The legislature has extended unemployment benefits, but what about extending employment?  There are too many families hurting to continue ignoring this issue.

“Fewer jobs mean less revenue.  Every declining forecast is merely a signal of the pain being felt by the 209,000 plus Oregonians who are searching for work.  This legislature must address the job shortfall if they ever want to see an end to budget shortfalls.” 
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Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski issued this statement about the revenue forecast:

“Today’s revenue forecast shows that this will continue to be a long, slow economic recovery.Although revenues are down for the current biennium, the shortfall facing the state is manageable with ending balances and reserve funds – and I will continue to work with the legislature to find a prudent and responsible path to balance this budget. However, the telling story of today’s economic report is not the current budget, but rather the economic forecast for the next four years, starting with the 2011-13 biennium."

“Today’s shortfall translates into hundreds of millions more in revenue deficits over the coming years, leaving Oregon approximately $2 billion short to fund services at their current level in the 2011-2013 biennium.Because of the reality of a slow growth recovery, coupled with the expiration of the federal stimulus which has helped states during this recession, it is more critical than ever for Oregon to establish an Emergency Reserve Fund in the state constitution, funded in part by modifications of the kicker.

Even with tighter budgets in the future, the kicker will continue to de-stabilize state services and make it more difficult to work through future economic downturns. If we do not act now to reform the kicker law, we will never be able to adequately protect core services during bad times and we will never be able save during good times. Oregon ’s long-term fiscal stability and prosperity is dependent on a strong reserve and the time to move forward on this effort is today during this legislative session.”