Oregon legislative session begins; jobs, economy in focus
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Legislature kicked off its five-month session Monday, beginning work on a new two-year budget and dozens of other initiatives.
As lawmakers convened, several hundred demonstrators massed on the Capitol steps calling for universal, government-funded health care — a demand that goes beyond the coverage expansions provided in the new federal health care law.
Their protest was the first of many that will be repeated by dozens of interest groups with myriad causes before legislators head home this summer.
The budget will be the top priority. Lawmakers will have to divvy up a projected $16.5 billion in general fund and lottery revenue — more than they had in the current budget, but not enough to keep pace with the rising cost of providing government services.
Legislators also will have to decide how much money goes to schools, public safety, and safety-net programs. In hopes of freeing up more dollars, Gov. John Kitzhaber has asked for major changes to public-employee pensions and sentencing laws.
Democrats running the House and Senate say they're focused on jobs and the economy, but they'll also be pushing legislation on housing, immigration and the environment.
Republicans will be in the minority in the House and Senate, but they may be able to team with centrist Democrats to advance some of their ideas.
Lawmakers have so far introduced more than 1,200 bills, but only a fraction will eventually pass the House and Senate and earn the governor's signature.
A group of activists hopes one of them will be a law creating single-payer health care in Oregon, eliminating the role of insurance companies and providing government-funded health care. Several hundred people, many donning red T-shirts for their cause, rallied in front of the Capitol.
The federal health care overhaul will extend health coverage to millions more Americans, but many will get the coverage from a private insurance company. Some people will still go without coverage, opting to pay a fine instead.
"It's a huge economic issue in this state and in this country that people don't have universal health care," said Kit Kirkpatrick of Eugene, "so other people have to pick up their emergency care."
Rep. Mitch Greenlick, a Portland Democrat who chairs the House Health Care Committee, said he supports the goal of achieving universal health care but doesn't think it will happen this session.
"I think getting there in one fell swoop is unlikely," Greenlick said, adding that Oregon is steadily increasing access to health care.
After Kitzhabers hit on the Gillnet fleet it will be interesting to see how many more jobs this legislature kills. Kitzhabers pet projects need to be flushed.
"""""""""Oregon legislative session begins; jobs, economy in focus""""""
Â
Ya,  I doubt  Dr. ReRun and his status quo  liberal economic policies will  make our future any different than the last two decades.Â
 @kramr If we hold onto hope long enough, there is bound to be another Intel that comes to town and makes it look like all these politicians actually did something rather than the reality that they did nothing during the 90s and it was solely a result of the booming PC market. We need to cut the number of politicians in half, then reduce the # of public employees, eliminate unions in the public sector, eliminate all PERS benefits from future contracts, and start to have some sustainable policies. I am fine with them not renewing any public employee's contract that has Tier 1 status. We will not miss them and the economy will be better for it.
@SR @kramr    """""""" If we hold onto hope long enough, there is bound to be another Intel that comes to town"""""
Â
IMHO, with increased regulations as well as increased tax burdens from #66 & #67 will have all future Intel's  bypassing Oregon and heading for Texas
yea, and texas is looking at giving tax revenues back because they exceeded budgets rather than what oregon would do which is hand out more raises and spend every last cent and then cry that the state is broke.
 @SR  @kramr I'm not a fan of public employee unions or anything like that, but, why should state employees not be eligible for the same sorts of benefits available in the corporate sector? They shouldn't be eligible for benefits?Bargain-barrel bureaucracies are doomed to be more expensive than fair compensation (I'm not saying it's fair...the new PERS system is radically different than the old one).
 @SR  @kramr Sorry, but, I worked in the corporate sector and my benefits, retirement, stock option and perks rivaled or exceeded the modern post-Tier 2 PERS, and the pay was better.Granted, I was laid off twice in four years due to corporate mergers and stock collapses.Having said that, it's not a square deal for all employees. Head Start employees get paid crap because it's a non-profit, but the unions are secretly still going around trying to convince the employees that they need to organize to make more money. Can't tell you why I know that but they showed up at my door and told me all about it until they realized I wasn't who they thought I was. But then the whole program will fail due to lack of money, it'll get cut, and they'll all be out of jobs. I'm not totally disagreeing with you, but, I'd request that you show mercy for the salaried and/or non-union employees. There are a lot of them. Also, your argument is going to be proven largely correct here in a few months, but, that's all I can say now. There's one hell of a circus coming to town pretty soon.
 @Playanekes  @kramr There are no PERS like benefits in the private sector. Or healthcare like the public has, and the wages are higher than private avg wages as well. There is a trade off for the essential tenure you have in public employment that is supposed to make up for being compensated less than in the private sector, but instead public employees have it all and it is not working. They should be eligible for straight 401k similar to the private sector, no pensions. Companies with pensions always have financial troubles, think airlines/auto manufacturing, etc..There should be no PERS system at all. Just a regular 401k and that is the problem. There should be no employee pick up of the amount, there should be no guarantees (regardless of tier).
Â
Then of course there is the mockery of public money they always make with vacations, expenditures, and reimbursements.
Â
There is a lot more to dislike than like.
"Jobs and economy in focus"...............I doubt it. These fools are blind !
 @Rob C 503 They are very concerned with how to create more public employee positions while improving the economy for their current public employees. But for private citizens they don't care unless you need some low income housing in which case they will focus on money for building you a deluxe home at south waterfront or in the pearl.
@SR .......my God, you've seen the play book !!!
Yep, although I do love it that if I made tens of thousands of dollars less then I could finally afford to live downtown. Gotta love pdx entitlement.
Uh-oh... the legislature's back... keep a close watch on your pockets and checkbooks, people..! Â :-)
Now that the election is over, the only jobs these characters care about are their own. Â A few months before the next election, they will start with the promises and lies again, just like they do every election.
Anything but reporting the Detroit teacher that may have just saved the lives of two female students by shooting to hoodlums in the school parking lot. Where's the story????
 @last boyscout If it hadn't have been for you I wouldn't have heard about it.
 @last boyscout I believe that is called a monday in detroit.
 @last boyscout Wow I really did have to dig to find the story of how an armed teacher saved the day. Since they like to through anything that could be linked to a gun now matter how remote in a "GUNMAN" story it makes you really wonder why this is not out there....
Â
Oh ya because the media for the most part are now just a political arm of the democratic party and not a true media source any more.
Â
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/man-shot-near-martin-luther-king-jr-high-school-in-detroit#ixzz2JmGL1IsO
Let's hope that the only thing the legislature does is to increase the tax base by helping to create more jobs and cut waste. I haven't seen any new laws that disparately need passing, or anything that needs more regulating.
@WebFootSTi Just wait awhile; I'm sure the subtitled D people will tell you soon enough what's gonna be better for you in the future!