Governor wants to invest in Oregon's future

BEND, Oregon -- Now is the best time to invest in roads, schools, public health and clean water, in Oregon's future, according to Governor John Kitzhaber.

Kitzhaber made a case for his proposed state budget to the central Oregon business community at the Central Oregon Economic Development Council annual luncheon on Friday, December 13 at the Riverhouse in Bend.

Public investment was needed for healthy private enterprise, said the governor.

Kitzhaber said that Oregon's economy had grown 14 percent between 1990 and 1995, the population grew by about 272,000, per capita income was up 35 percent and employment was down to about 5 percent.

But the governor warned that highway maintenance has faltered at a time when new roads are needed to accommodate growth.

College tuition is up 80 percent since 1990, and public support for higher education has dropped from 14 percent to 8 percent "at a time when everyone acknowledges the important of education," said Kitzhaber.

"...Isn't this (a time of unprecedented growth) the time to invest? When the economy turns, you can not possibly make these kinds of investments," he warned.

Kitzhaber wants to use the "tax kicker," about $383 million collected in income tax in excess of that needed by the state, to "protect education from the effects of Measure 47," equalize resources between schools, reduce college tuition, reduce disparity between community colleges and improve technology education for grades K-12.

To improve highways, the governor proposes to use the existing weight and gas tax for preservation and maintenance of the existing system.

He would like to add a "mileage-based user fee based on the length of a vehicle," to build new roads because longer vehicles take up more space, and possibly a generalized utility tax, because everyone benefits, even those who don't drive but do buy groceries, from efficient transportation.

The recently passed cigarette tax will be used to add people to the Oregon Health Plan.

He proposes an excise tax on containers to raise about $60 million to support Oregon's park system, provide "watershed grants" to individual landowners to improve stream quality and riparian habitat on their own land and improve salmon habitat in coastal streams before the federal government lists those species and endangered.

There is little disagreement, the governor said, over the importance of education, transportation, healthcare and natural resources. The question, he said, was "are we willing to pay for it?

"I have proposed one way. I am open to alternatives," he said.

His budget will be balanced without these investments, Kitzhaber said. But he warned that such a budget will allow some parks to close, defer highway maintenance and invite the federal government to impose requirements of the national Clean Water Act. High tech companies will continue to hire workers from outside Oregon.

"In this era it is never going to be popular to call for more public investment. But unless we make this investment, we will not be able to maintain prosperity and quality of life," said Kitzhaber. "My job is to challenge Oregonians to give thought to these issues."