Legislature moves towards annual
sessions; join us in Salem on
March 1
Both the Oregon House and Senate
have passed a resolution calling
for the Legislature to meet in
special session between Feb. 4
and Feb. 29, 2008, a step
towards possibly meeting every
year. The resolution also calls
for this year’s session to end
by June 29, which would be the
earliest adjournment since the
153-day session in 1995 ended on
June 28. Last year’s session was
the longest in state history.
There’s a catch, though: The
House and Senate must both pass
resolutions to adjourn this
year. If a majority in either
chamber is opposed to
adjournment, it doesn’t happen.
State Rep. Gene Whisnant,
R-Sunriver, was one of 11 House
members who voted against the
resolution. On a related note,
the Oregon State Chamber of
Commerce will hold its biennial
“Chamber Day” in Salem on March
1. The Bend Chamber is planning
on leading a one-day trip from
Bend that day for a luncheon
featuring state leaders and a
visit to the Capitol to meet
with local legislators. There
will be a small cost, as yet
undetermined, to pay for the
lunch and transportation. If
you’re interested in attending,
please contact
jeff@bendchamber.org.
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State revenue surplus? Spend it
wisely or give it back
Last week’s survey question was,
“What should the Legislature do
with the approximately $2.2
billion in unexpected additional
tax revenue the state expects to
collect in the next two years?”
The overwhelming sentiments
seemed to be, save some and
spend some wisely, or give it
back to taxpayers. Some
comments:
“Our state should cut the taxes
charged. Our older people are
being taxed out of their homes
and are having a difficult time
trying to live. Our state can
help them. Trying to spend the
taxes is not a good choice.”
“I believe legislators should no
nothing with that money except
to put it into a reserve fund to
support operational needs for
emergencies and/or downturns in
revenues in the future.”
“Strengthen support for
education, preschool through
higher education, add state
troopers to the highways, and
start building a rainy-day
fund.”
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Health care an issue in
legislatures throughout the
country
The cost and availability of
health care is becoming a
front-burner issue in
legislatures throughout the
country. In California, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has
floated a plan to guarantee
health insurance for all
Californians, including illegal
immigrants. His measure would
carry a $12 billion price tag
and cover 6.5 million people who
currently aren’t covered,
including about 760,000
children. In Pennsylvania, Gov.
Ed Rendell said his plan, “Cover
All Pennsylvanians,” would
provide affordable basic health
insurance to small businesses
and uninsured individuals
through the private health
insurance market. Companies
would be eligible if they have
fewer than 50 employees whose
workers earn less than the
average state wage of $39,000,
at a cost of about $130 per
month per employee. And in
Oregon, two related bills, HB
2200 and HB2201, would provide
health care coverage to
children. Former Governor John
Kitzhaber has gone a step
further, announcing this week a
plan that would combine nearly
$7 billion from employer tax
deductions for health care and
from state and federal tax money
spent on Medicare and Medicaid
in Oregon. The money would be
spent to provide “core benefits”
of essential health services to
all Oregonians, including the
approximately 600,000 who now
have no health insurance. His
plan, which was presented at the
first meeting off the Central
Oregon City Club today, is
called the Archimedes Movement.
The Bend Chamber will be closely
following this important issue.
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This week’s survey question
Should Oregon require businesses to provide employees with
health insurance? Please e-mail
your responses to:
jeff@bendchamber.org.
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