Gov. John Kitzhaber announced Monday that he will line-item veto sections of the Oregon Legislature’s latest budget proposal and present a revised solution that will go into effect March 12, eliminating the need to call the Legislature back for a third special session.
For now, at least.
Despite having serious reservations with the legislation, the governor will only make changes to $87.6 million of the budget. He plans to eliminate the need for $67.5 million in national tobacco settlement funds and restore funding to 911 response budgets and dental care for Oregonians, but he has not yet given specifics as to where he’ll find the money to balance the budget.
Kitzhaber may line-item veto portions of up to 13 bills passed by the Legislature, including HB 4028, which allows for Sunday liquor sales.
No changes are planned for Oregon’s higher education budget, already slated to lose 5.2 percent of its funding with the Legislature’s cut of $43.3 million.
This is the first time in Oregon history that a governor has decided to modify a Legislature’s budget proposal without its subsequent approval, but Kitzhaber said he was ready and able to make his changes.
His actions may temporarily solve the budget crisis, but Kitzhaber said he plans to call the Legislature back in June after an quarterly economic forecast is issued.
The governor had indicated he would support any bills passed by the Legislature as long as they did not rely on one-time funding sources. The Legislature’s second budget attempt used almost $500 million in one-time funds to fill the state’s $846 million budget hole.
“This budget is an embarrassment, and it should be vetoed,” Kitzhaber said. It “creates a huge fiscal cliff for the 2003 to 2005 fiscal year.”
Kitzhaber said stopping legislators from using tobacco settlement money was the least he could do.
“The issue isn’t about taxes. It’s about a sustainable budget,” he said. “We have $500 million in one-time revenue sources in this budget because this Legislature wasn’t responsible.”
On Saturday, the Legislature voted on the budget by party lines, and reaction to Kitzhaber’s veto statement ran the same partisan way.
State Sen. Tony Corcoran, D-Cottage Grove, praised the governor’s stance on the budget issue.
“The governor is the only person in the building with vision,” he said.
State Board of Higher Education Student Representative Tim Young also lauded Kitzhaber’s announcement.
“I applaud the governor’s veto,” Young said. “I don’t think the Band-Aid approach is appropriate for our state or for higher education.”