The Oregon House of Representatives voted 51-8 on Monday to approve a bill that would restore $15.5 million in human service programs and state police during the next five months. The bill will now go to the Oregon Senate for consideration.
The bill, which would be implemented using mostly one-time reserve funds, was developed after public outcry on the failure of Measure 28. Since then, legislators have been torn about whether to re-open the current budget or to focus on the next biennium’s impending shortfall.
If the Senate approves the legislation, House Bill 5075 would restore some funding for programs and staff in police and health services, including the Medically Needy program, state police forensics services and long-term care for elderly and disabled people.
But the bill faces scrutiny and the possible veto of Gov. Ted Kulongoski because it could put Oregon deeper into debt for this budget and the next.
Kulongoski spokesman Scott Ballo said the governor wants to see programs and services restored, but is worried that a short-term fix would mislead
people, especially since the programs could suffer cuts in the next biennium.
In a letter to lawmakers, Kulongoski said he would support the bill only if a long-term plan was established alongside the short, five-month fix.
“The recession has already caused us to dig a very deep budget hole,” Kulongoski said in the statement. “It seems to me, the last thing we need now is more digging.” State Rep. Pat Farr, R-Eugene, said he that isn’t happy with the short-term plan, but that it is necessary so programs facing cuts will not lose funding and disappear. If the programs were dissolved, he said, legislators would have to start from scratch to re-create them. For many, the short-term plan is the lesser of two evils.
“I wish we didn’t have to go there, but we do,” Farr said.
Statewide health and police services suffered major hits after Measure 28’s failure, as legislators made promised cuts.
The measure, which failed last month, would have restored funding to many essential services via a hotly disputed income-tax increase.
Just days after Measure 28 failed, state police officials announced that nearly 300 state police troopers, forensic scientists and other staff would be cut to offset their share of the $310 million shortfall. Police officials have said the cuts in forensic staff would force prosecutors to investigate only the most serious crimes.
The Oregon Department of Human Services’ budget suffered $90 million in cuts, resulting in total losses of $140 million to the department since the beginning of 2002.
Medicaid was also slashed for about 9,000 seniors and disabled people. Other health services were cut, too.
Oregon State Rep. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, said the fallout of cuts to health and human services drastically affected the most needy — those who will likely die without care.
“We’ve got some individuals who are really at risk with life and death,” he said.