SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Republicans are accusing Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski of using a delaying tactic to try to keep Oregon voters from having their say on income tax hikes just passed by the Legislature.

Anti-tax activists, business groups and others are ready to mount a campaign to force a statewide vote on the $733 million tax package. The Democratic-led Legislature, with Kulongoski's backing, passed the tax hikes to protect schools and other state services from cuts.

Oregon GOP Chairman Bob Tiernan said Kulongoski is putting off signing the bills so opponents have less time to gather petition signatures needed to put the tax hikes on a January ballot.

"To manipulate the system and delay this process would rob the people of Oregon of their opportunity to participate in the process," Tiernan said.

But a Kulongoski spokeswoman said the tax measures are among 300 bills that still need legal review before the governor can act on them.

"We take the time to review every bill that comes to the governor's desk. We're not playing games here," Jillian Schoene said Thursday.

No signature gathering can begin until Kulongoski signs the measures. By law, the governor has until Aug. 7 to act on bills passed by the 2009 Legislature, which adjourned Monday.

The measures raising income taxes on corporations and upper-income Oregonians will take effect 90 days after the Legislature's adjournment, unless petitions with 55,179 signatures are filed with the state by Sept. 25 to force a statewide election.

If Kulongoski were to wait until Aug. 7, the last possible day, to sign the bills, opponents would have fewer than 50 days to round up those signatures.

Tiernan, the state GOP chief, said Kulongoski owes it to Oregonians to sign the tax increases immediately and not "burn up valuable time in an effort to disadvantage citizen efforts to refer the taxes to voters."

However, a leading advocate of the tax increases said there's no reason for Kulongoski to go out of his way to make the opponents' job easier by immediately signing the bills.

Charles Sheketoff of the Oregon Center for Public Policy said Kulongoski has already announced he's going to campaign vigorously for the tax package, and that "it's not in his interest to give opponents more time" to try to block it.

"The governor has a whole bunch of bills he has to review," Sheketoff said. "I don't know why he should feel obligated to accommodate those who are going to fight this."
     
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)