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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 28, 2003
Contact: Mary Ellen Glynn, (503) 378-6496 mary-ellen.glynn@state.or.us
Marian Hammond, (503) 378-6169 marian.hammond@state.or.us
(Oregon) Governor Evaluates 2003 Legislative Session: "One of the Most Productive Legislative Sessions Ever"
(SALEM) In a post-Sine Die press conference held at the State Capitol today, Governor Ted Kulongoski evaluated the accomplishments of the 2003 Legislative Session.
"This may have been Oregon's longest legislative session, but it has also been one of the most productive legislative sessions our state has ever seen," said the Governor. "This session has brought real benefits to the people of Oregon - we have safeguarded our children's future, created new jobs and enacted significant economic development initiatives, and we have made government more efficient and more accountable."
The Governor outlined his "checklist" of legislative accomplishments, summarized below.
Checklist of Governor's Priorities
1. Putting Children First
* K-12 Funding The Governor said in January that he would be guided by several principles. First and foremost, he said that especially in tough economic times like these, children must go to the head of the line. With the enactment of HB 2152 and HB 5077, the Governor and the legislature provided $5.3 billion in K-12 funding to provide Oregon students with a full school year, reasonable class sizes and adequate programs.
* Fighting Hunger Governor Kulongoski tackled the problem of hunger in Oregon head-on, convening the Summit on Hunger on February 27, 2003, and using the bully pulpit to bring awareness of hunger - particularly among children – to the forefront of Oregonians' consciousness. He spearheaded public service announcements and billboards, helped raise money for the Oregon Food Bank through bowling challenges and shepherded legislation for the summer food program (SB 287), the Women, Infants and Children farmers market program and the seniors' farmers market program (SB 500, SB 501).
* The Oregon Health Plan After months of negotiation and compromise, the OHP has been rebuilt, with continued coverage for all those currently eligible and expanded coverage for children (HB 2511, HB 3624).
2. Creating Jobs for Oregonians
* Oregon's Transportation Infrastructure The Governor's economic development agenda for the legislative session focused on creating living wage jobs to put Oregonians back to work. The Governor spearheaded the effort to begin $2.5 billion of construction projects for Oregon's transportation infrastructure, the largest construction project in the state since the 1950s (HB 2041). This package will create 5000 family-wage jobs for Oregonians.
* Baseball Assuming Portland comes up with their share of the financing, 1500 new well-paying construction jobs will be created in Oregon as one of the benefits of Governor Kulongoski's fight to bring baseball to our state (SB 5).
* Tourism Governor Kulongoski knows how important the travel industry is to Oregon. That is why he pushed for legislation creating a new hotel/motel tax (HB 2267) that will pump needed dollars - $7 million to $9 million annually - into promoting Oregon as a great travel destination The Governor wants Oregon to "own" the summer - when Americans think of traveling in the fall, they inevitably they think of New England. Likewise, Florida owns spring break, and Colorado and the states of the Rockies own the winter. With Oregon's low humidity, mild weather and endless recreational opportunities, we should be able to sell our summer to any traveler in the world.
* Art and Culture Even in tough economic times, the Governor knows how important Oregon's cultural resources are to our economy. That's why, in an effort to save both money and the arts in Oregon, Governor Kulongoski merged the Cultural Trust and the Oregon Arts Commission, assuring the survival of both (SB 931). In addition, he established the state's first incentive plan to lure major film productions to Oregon (HB 2747).
* Industrial Lands The Governor worked with the legislature to lay the groundwork for additional companies to site and expand in our state, by easing development on abandoned mill sites and by working to prepare shovel-ready industrial sites (HB 2691, HB 2011).
The Governor also spearheaded the investment in signature research centers and paved the way for venture capitalists to invest in Oregon (HB 3613).
* Workforce Development Governor Kulongoski linked workforce development and economic development to create a statewide strategy to meets the training needs of Oregon's business, industry and workers. In addition to creating a business-labor Task Force on Workforce development, he streamlined the workforce education and training system. The system now provides businesses and workers with one-stop access to jobs and training information through a new "311" phone hotline and website. He has also created a new Employer Workforce Training fund to finance skill enhancement projects for Oregon businesses and workers.
3. Making Government Accountable
* Public Employees Retirement System Governor Kulongoski worked to revamp PERS, in order to provide a fair and adequate pension to our valuable public employees at an affordable and predictable cost. The reforms to the current PERS system, as well as the creation of a successor plan, will save the state billions of dollars. This is the largest single amount of taxpayer dollars ever saved by state government (HB 2003, HB 2004, HB 2005, HB 2020, HB 2001).
* Regulations and Permits The Governor demanded that government be more efficient. Regulations were streamlined. Permits are now easier to obtain (SB 711, 713, 714, and 715; and HB 2717 and 2564). The Governor has also recruited private sector leaders to help us implement best business practices and deliver services in the most efficient manner possible.
* Senior Citizen Care The Governor worked to provide cheaper prescriptions medicines for our seniors through bulk purchasing. SB 875 establishes the Oregon Prescription Drug Program, a bulk-purchasing program in the Department of Administrative Services. The program is designed to allow low-income seniors, local governments and participating state entities to receive the most effective drugs at the best possible prices. The Governor also worked to assure them of assisted living facilities, so that they can have dignity in their twilight years, and to strengthen protections for seniors, persons with disabilities who are victims of abuse (HB 2449, SB 118, SB 119).
* Rural Healthcare The Governor successfully fought for medical malpractice relief for rural obstetricians and other specialists. HB 3630 provides $10 million a year to subsidize a portion of rural physicians' malpractice premiums - more than 1,500 rural physicians likely will be eligible to obtain the subsidy.
* Sustaining the Environment The Governor has made it a priority to provide a livable Oregon through legislation that promoted healthy rural economies while protecting and enhancing the environment. Because he knows that the health of our environment is integral with the health of our economy, the Governor has chartered a course on sustainability that embeds sustainable development into the fabric of Oregon's economic, social and environmental policies. The first step in this initiative was the Governor's executive order on sustainability challenging state agencies to operate and regulate with an eye to long-term sustainable practices (EO 03-03).
* Public Safety Public safety has been high on the Governor's agenda for this legislative session. He worked to fill the gaps in homeland security to make our communities safer. He also pushed legislation to crack down on identity crimes, credit card fraud and improper use of Social Security numbers (HB 3296 and HB 3318).
The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine Commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities.
