SALEM- As anticipated earlier this month, State Economist Tom Potiowsky released his most recent revenue forecast today showing the state to have $1.269 billion less than what was expected at the end of the Legislative session in 2009.

Because of the allotment reductions made by the governor following the last revenue forecast, the total $1.269 billion shortfall translates into just a $377.5 million gap needing to be filled, said Senior Economist Josh Harwood.

PORTLAND- During the past few weeks, complaints and accusations have been flooding in from both political parties on the improper use of phone calls to constituents in Senate Districts 19 and 20.

The two districts, which straddle the Interstate 5 corridor, stretch from Tualatin and Tigard on the west side to Oregon City and West Linn off Interstate 205.

SALEM- The Oregon Legislature announced last week the naming of the Joint Legislative Argument Committees on Ballot Measures 70, 71, and 72.

The committees, recently named by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Clackamas, were created for the purposes of drafting arguments in support of the ballot measures proposed by the Legislature.

PORTLAND- This mini documentary is part of a series on gun rights in Oregon. The Oregon Politico interviewed experts on both sides of the issue to get a complete understanding of the story.

CLICK TO SEE THE VIDEO

SALEM- As expected, the Legislative Emergency Board voted to restore $17.1 million in state funding to the Oregon Department of Human Services on Thursday.

In a press release sent out Thursday afternoon, Senate President Courtney, D-Salem, said, “We know it is absolutely the right thing to do to keep serving those who need help the most-especially our senior citizens and children with disabilities.

FOREST GROVE- State Senators Rick Metsger, D-Hood River, and Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro, met at the Forest Grove Town Hall to discuss business development in Oregon and what the State is doing to better the economy.

Both Metsger and Starr, who were leaders on the Senate Economic Development and Transportation Committee last session, stressed the importance of transportation on business development in Oregon.

SALEM- Senate President Peter Courtney, D- Salem, and House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Clackamas County, announced on Tuesday their intentions to use the week’s Emergency Board meeting to prevent cuts to senior in-home care and services for those people with disabilities.

During the Legislative Emergency Board meeting scheduled for Thursday morning, Hunt and Courtney expect to restore $17 million of the $158 million that the Oregon Department of Human Services was required to cut as part of the governor’s allotment process.

SALEM- As of July 1, many employers no longer will be able to perform a credit history check of potential employees as part of their hiring process.

This is a result of the Job Applicant Fairness Act, Senate Bill 1045, which was passed in the most recent February session, spearheaded by Sen. Diane Rosenbaum and Rep. Tina Kotek. Oregon is the third state to enact such legislation, following Washington and Hawaii.

SALEM- The Committee on Performance Excellence hopes to help the Oregon government do more with less. The committee was created by Senate Bill 1099, which passed with strong support from both sides of the aisle.

“We’re looking at the new normal, and the new normal is we expect to have less, certainly not more, revenue in the future,” said Sen. Frank Morse, R-Albany.

SALEM- With Hearing Room F’s speaker phone tuned into legislators across the state who were unable to attend Tuesday’s Emergency Board meeting, the Committee voted to grant $64,762,227 to the Oregon University System (OUS).

The Emergency Board Committee is a standing committee of the legislature that meets in the interim to give emergency funds to agencies who request additional funding.