BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Oregon’s unemployment rate stayed unchanged in April, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Oregon Department of Employment. The state’s political leaders have begun to debate whether the news indicates a nearing end to the recession.

Governor Ted Kulongoski called the report “a welcome turn in the right direction” but stressed the need to “remain focused on fostering economic growth and opportunities in the private sector to help continue this direction of job creation.”

Lake Oswego’s Senator Richard Devlin, the Majority Leader for the State Senate, also spoke of the positive news.

“Nearly 4,000 more Oregonians will be earning paychecks this month, making this the largest gain in two and a half years,” said the Senator. “This is sold evidence that things are getting better. On top of this, the construction industry, which has been especially hard hit, experienced its first seasonally adjusted gain since early 2007.”

Senate Minority Leader, Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, issued an immediate response calling the declaration of success premature.

“Half of the ‘new jobs’ the Majority Leaders brags on aren’t long-term family wage jobs at all, but temporarily hiring of census workers,” Ferrioli said.

“While it is true the construction industry added 1,300 jobs, Oregon needs an additional 41,000 jobs in the construction sector just to return to pre-recession levels.”

Tuesday’s report from the Oregon Department of Employment put the unemployment rate at 10.6% for April, which is the same rate as that in March. This is 0.7% above the national unemployment rate.

According to the Employment Department, Oregon’s unemployment rate has been “essentially unchanged for the most recent six months.”

BY SARAH ROSS

Governor Ted Kulongoski

SALEM- Governor Ted Kulongoski announced Tuesday that the State was able to fund 5,800 jobs this quarter with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the stimulus.

The funding for these jobs came in as $150 million over the past three months. Tuesday’s press release also mentioned that the State also used this money for equipment and materials.

“This report demonstrates that the Recovery Act continues to help support jobs across the state for thousands of Oregonians during this difficult economic period,” said Gov. Kulongoski.

The press release stated that over the past three months, stimulus funds paid salaries for over 4,000 educators in Oregon’s K-12 schools and universities and 736 State correctional facility employees.

Oregon received about $613 million in total from the stimulus for this quarter, including funds for health care, education, and unemployment assistance. Around $1.7 million has been given directly to Oregonians since February. This came in the way of unemployment payments, Medicaid assistance, and food stamps assistance.

“Democrat policies in Salem and Washington have failed to create the private sector jobs we need for Oregon’s economic recovery,” responded House Minority Leader, Bruce Hanna, R-Roseburg. “While creating few jobs for Oregon families, both of the Democrats’ state and federal stimulus packages have contributed to runaway government spending that will be impossible to sustain in future biennia.”

Attendants at April's State Land Board meeting including SOS Kate Brown on left

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Director of State Lands Louise Solliday testified before the State Land Board Tuesday about the market gains for the Common School Fund’s annual portfolio in the 2009 calendar year.

The data released showed the net returns gained just over 30 percentage points from 2008. While this is a large return compared with most years, financial experts consider it to be a correction of the markets in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, the Common School Fund had just under 3 percentage points in net returns, while in 2008 the Fund lost over 32 percent.

The Department of State Lands Report stated: “Calendar year 2009 did its best to relieve some of the sting left behind from 2007 and 2008. While much ground remains to be made up, from mid-March on, the equity and fixed income markets soared.”

The State Land Board is a meeting of the state’s highest officials, Governor Ted Kulongoski, Secretary of State Kate Brown, and Treasurer Ted Wheeler. The Board meets every two months to determine policy over state lands.

The Common School Fund is a fund managed by the Department of State Lands, putting money toward public school education in Oregon. Money in the fund comes from the mineral, timber, and other resources harvested on certain state lands and waterways.

BY SARAH ROSS

Governor Ted Kulongoski

SALEM- Governor Ted Kulongoski urged the Legislature this week to take up major policy issues only in the body’s longer regular sessions to allow for enough public input on the perspective changes.

The advice comes from Thursday’s press release on the Governor’s veto of three pieces of legislation dealing with prescription drugs, beverage bottle distribution, and state board practices.

“All three bills proposed changing a long-standing Oregon public policy,” said Kulongoski. “I have a serious concern as to whether the Special Session in February provided opportunity for citizens and interested stakeholders to be adequately involved in the development of these proposed major policy changes. “

Rem Nivens, spokesman for Governor Kulongoski, clarified that the Governor is supportive of the legislation which passed in February proposing a short, month long session in between regular sessions.

He added, however, that major policy changes, like the ones vetoed on Thursday, should wait to be brought up during a longer regular session. This will allow for the proper input from citizens and key players in the policy.

“The public give-and-take is critical to crafting and amending legislation by allowing all interested parties to be involved in the development of public policy,” Kulongoski stated. “I believe we must always be open and transparent when we are proposing changes to long established Oregon policy, especially in a short legislative session.”

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- In his final State of the State Address on Friday, Governor Ted Kulongoski praised Oregon’s efforts at growing government in a time of recession and warned of future budgetary restraints unless reforms are made.

Those reforms he mentioned in his address included his three step “Reset” plan consisting of stabilizing state revenues, attracting more revenue from “outside sources”, and reducing state spending.

Also, the two term governor stressed the need for kicker reform to put at least a portion of the “kicker” into a Rainy Day savings fund to provide stability when the state has less revenue than expenditures.

HIGHLIGHTS

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PART ONE of FULL SPEECH

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PART TWO of FULL SPEECH

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PART THREE of FULL SPEECH

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BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Governor Ted Kulongoski announced Thursday his signing a bill reforming the Business Energy Tax Credit into law.

“This legislation strengthens accountability in the program to ensure taxpayer dollars are delivering outcomes we want, while also maintaining an important economic program that is critical to creating economic opportunities for communities across the state,” stated the Governor in Thursday’s press release.

The bill, House Bill 3680, not only puts a cap on the number of overall tax credits available for use in renewable energy and manufacturing, but also includes phasing out the credit for large wind projects over time.

Controversy grew over the past year when it was discovered that large corporations like WalMart were making money off the program and that the program was costing more than was originally planned.

Previously, legislation to reform the BETC was vetoed by Kulongoski, with him saying in his August veto letter, “We must first gather the facts concerning the BETC program and then apply those facts to the underlying economics of renewable energy projects before we make adjustments that may risk endangering a successful program.”

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Governor Ted Kulongoski announced on Monday that Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler will take over as State Treasurer.

In a press release announcing the appointment, Kulongoski stated, “Ted Wheeler brings the perfect balance of expertise from both the public and private sectors to this job with an impressive record managing the county’s budget to a working knowledge of the financial industry.”

This announcement comes following the death of State Treasurer Ben Westlund, 60, on Sunday.

Wheeler issued a statement Monday saying, “It is with conflicted emotions that I accept Governor Kulongoski’s appointment to the office of Oregon State Treasurer. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the citizens of this great state and believe I am well prepared for the challenges ahead but am saddened by the circumstances that bring me here today.”

Wheeler has served as the Multnomah County Chair since 2006, also filling the positions of Chief Executive Officer for the county and Chair for the Board of Commissioners. Previously, Wheeler worked in the financial sector with companies including Bank of America and Copper Mountain Trust. He received degrees in economics, business, and public policy from Stanford, Columbia, and Harvard universities.

Oregon voters will elect a permanent replacement for Oregon State Treasurer in November.

Wheeler has tendered his resignation as Multnomah County Chair effective March 11. Chief Operating Officer Jana McLellen will serve as Chair until the Board of Commissioners selects a replacement to serve throughout 2010. A permanent replacement will be voted on in May.

Filings for Wheeler’s position, so far, include Mike Darger, Margaret Carter, and Jeff Cogen.

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- With the passage of tax Measures 66 and 67 on Tuesday, a concern for business migration and job loss has begun brewing.

One study headed by Oregon Politico’s parent organization, Cascade Policy Institute, found that with the passage of both measures, 8,000 additional taxpayers per year are expected to migrate out-of-state due to increases in the state’s marginal tax rates.

Steve Buckstein, Senior Policy Analyst at Cascade, says, “It will clearly influence business migration. Many of them have already left Oregon for more tax-friendly states like the state of Washington, and this will only make it worse.”

Ryan Deckert, President of the Oregon Business Association, presents Washington’s proximity as a particular challenge for Oregon. With Oregon now having the highest capital gains tax in the nation, and Washington having no capital gains tax, businesses may be drawn more to Oregon’s neighbor to the north.

“I think in Washington, especially the border towns like Vancouver, we’re going to see positive repercussions from it,” says Kris Greene, Director of Government Affairs for the East Vancouver Business Association. “I think people will do business over here. I think companies will relocate here a little more easily or will be motivated to move here because of taxation. ”

Yet, not all say the tax increases will bring devastation to the state’s job market.

“What I’m hopeful of is that our policymakers…are as concerned about job loss and migration as we are. And I think they are,” stated Deckert. “The legislature meets Monday, [and] there are things that we can do to start getting back on a path that will draw jobs to our state and not push them out.”

Governor Ted Kulongoski said that even with the passage of the tax increases, Oregon and the entire country is in a slow growth recovery. “We must continue working together if we want to position Oregon for economic success in the long term.”

A representative from Yes for Oregon was unavailable for question but that input will be in updated version of the article.

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Senate Republicans are calling for an override of Governor Ted Kulongoski’s veto of Senate Bill 897.

This bill, introduced last March, passed almost unanimously in both the Senate and the House and was subsequently vetoed by Gov. Kulongoski in August. It covers a range of Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) protections, including the ability to purchase more health insurance benefits among other things.

The most influential aspect of the bill is the demand for the state’s data calculations for retirement benefits to be verified and locked in so that when an employee signs on to the plan, it cannot change.

“It’s time to stop letting bureaucrats dump liability for their mistakes onto the back of citizens,” said Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day). “Under a policy advanced by the current administration and defended by Governor Ted Kulongoski’s veto, if bureaucrats screw up, retirees lose. If they complain, the government says, ‘You trusted us? Too bad.’”

Gov. Kulongoski’s office has said that he stands by the reasons laid out in his veto letter to the body in August. He cited the pending legal decisions currently in the courts as a reason to hold off on any legislation until these proceedings have been finalized. He also stated that SB 897 was a one sided fix to the problem because it allowed for retirees to collect after being underpaid but not reimburse the state when they’re overpaid.

BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- The state’s unemployment situation remains bleak with 11 percent of Oregon workers out of jobs, the state reported this week.

The report showed some gains in the private sector and the manufacturing sector but listed a total of 209,576 Oregonians unemployed in December, up from 173,121 unemployed in December 2008.

Gov.Ted Kulongoski issued a statement calling the news promising but still showing that many Oregonians remain in need of work.

“Because of this need, I will continue to urge Congress to consider another unemployment benefit extension to ensure those who are out of work will continue to be able to look for work and support themselves and their families. On the state side, I will also work with legislative partners in February to reauthorize a state extension of unemployment benefits to complement any action at the federal level.”

In a presentation to a House Committee on January 14, the Employment Department showed a list of all unemployment programs for which Oregonians are eligible, ranging from 26 weeks to over 2 years of benefits.

Christina Martin, an analyst at Oregon Politico’s parent company the Cascade Policy Institute, rebutted the governor’s plan, stating, “While it feels good to extend unemployment insurance benefits, economics teaches that it will extend unemployment for the average beneficiary and that it is a poor investment in economic recovery. It fails to truly help the unemployed. Ultimately, workers need opportunities. That means we should be stimulating entrepreneurial activity through tax cuts and other incentives.”

Gov. Kulongoski ended his statement by saying, “As Governor, my focus remains on working across public and private-sector lines to ensure Oregon is well positioned for the long term, which means investing in job creation as well as helping Oregonians manage this difficult period.”