emerald
platform
Is biennium
meeting needs?
Today males the beginning of the Legislature's
second special session in two years to balance the state
budget
With more budget problems lurking in the future, a
question of increasing importance concerns Oregon's
every-other-year regular session: is a biennial Legisla
ture meeting the state's needs'7
Some say it isn’t
For example, the City Club of Portland — after
studying this question last year — recommends an
annual session of limited length. Chris Tobkin, the
group's executive secretary, says they'd prefer annual
sessions which last no longer than half the time of
recent biennial sessions Recent sessions have taken
about six months
The City Club s plan would have legislators address
general and fiscal matters each year, although separa
tely Having the entire Legislature decide budget issues
every year would prevent a minority of legislators from
having too much power on fiscal decisions, she says
She is referring to the Emergency Board. 17 legis
lators who watch over the state budget during the
interim. Not only are they an unrepresentative group,
she says, but an increasing number of items are being
considered "emergency” business
Challenges to the biennial structure should be
expected: Oregon's is one of only six state legislatures
that (in practice as well as
name) meet every two years
Most states to get their
business done meet every
year ” says Cindy Simon of
the National Conference of
State Legislatures head
quartered in Denver
Each state is different. Simon adds, and as long as
a legislature can call itself into special session meet the
needs of the state, and have budgetary safeguards
during the interim, then a biennial plan is fine
Oregon’s Legislature can call itself into special
session, by a majority vote in each house And the
budgetary powers of Oregon's Emergency Board are
unique. Simon points out
But can a biennial structure meet the increasing
needs of our state7
Yes, it can Although the minority aspect of the
Emergency Board is open for debate (since it s
members comprise 20 percent of the legislature), we
should remember what state we re in California Ohio
Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts have
definite full-time legislatures: but this is Oregon
Only 24 of the 90 legislators here list their occupa
tion as legislator There appears to be a spirit of "let s
get the job done and go home among the less car
eer-minded’ lawmakers
Even in an economic quagmire there is a danger in
becoming too "professional "
By continuing the biennial calendar — including
concise special sessions when necessary — Oregon
would be better served than by adopting an annual
schedule that would encourage self-seeking profes
sionals "
One legislative analyst sums it up by asking If we
had a general annual session do you think the Legisla
ture could do it (decide on budget cuts) in three weeks
and go home7”
Less can sometimes be more ...
It’s all just a guessing-game
Predictions are second only to
rumors as the most common form
of conversation in Salem
Correct predictions are worth
less. of course, except for the
modest satisfaction they offer the
few who are consistently on target
One of the few. a Ways and
Means Committee member, took a
few minutes between a hearing
and a Democratic caucus to
predict what the Legislature is go
ing to do
A likely outcome is that they will
trim state agency budgets by five
percent, he says The rest of the
state's projected deficit will be
made up from the property tax
relief fund
Otherwise he thinks Gov Vic
Atiyeh's 10 percent, across-the
board cut in agency budgets would
be implemented
Although observers say no new
taxes will be levied, Salem is a
virtual tax scheme deli these days
But of the thirty or so money-rais
ing plans published by the Legisla
tive Revenue office only one is
being seriously considered
The plan for speeding collection
of employer's withholding taxes
(with an additional collection made
this fiscal year) seems most pala
table to legislators It is not an
increase, but simply an adjustment
in bookkeeping procedure
And it will r>et the state a one
time. $72 million windfall To
recover the other $165 million of
the state s protected deficit, legrs
lators will have to — as in the first
scenario — trim agency budgets by
five percent and dtp into property
tax relief funds
Now that we have the answer, it
begs the obvious question how did
the state get into this mess7
The prescient senator puts it
succinctly The Legislature should
never have instituted an on-going
property tax relief program based
on a freak surplus in funds, he
says
The program was implemented
in 1979 Proposition 13 had just
devastated California Public sen
timent was strongly critical of the
state collecting more money than it
spent, as indeed had happened To
avoid a similar initiative referen
dum here (the fearsome Ballot
Measure 6), legislators took their
cue and passed a property tax
relief plan
The state can no longer afford it,
but people have come to expect
that refund check
Atryeh has repeatedly stated he
would not impose new taxes
Reducing the amount of tax relief is
technically not a new tax, but
Atiyeh does not consider that an
alternative
"If people are expecting a cer
tain amount back on their taxes
and they get less that's just the
same as raising taxes." Miles says
Already the Legislature has
lowered the maximum property tax
relief refund from $800. the 1979
level, to $425 Sources say this
could drop to $200 or $300 this
special session
The one appropriation Atiyeh is
requesting includes a $2 million
line item for an economic recovery
program Democrats, predictably
are coming up with a program of
their own
"They've been in their ivory
tower too long.” says one senator
No longer can higher education be
considered inviolate "We have yet
to see what programs can be con
solidated or abolished without
bringing down the whole system
There's no reason we have to have
a college of education at every
state institution except one "
As of Friday, the Ways and
Means subcommittee discussing
the higher education budget had
decided to recommend about an
$11 million, or five percent, cut
Dick Zita, a higher education
spokesman, says that translates
into losing 420 faculty, 85 staff, and
5,000 students
By Jennifer Uium
letters
Fiscal fiasco
How can any one segment of
Oregon's population be expect
ed to shoulder the burden of
correcting the State s financial
difficulties when, in fact, the
current fiscal fiasco can only
have originated in the State
Legislature and in the Gover
nor s office.
Therefore, the State Legisla
tors, and the Governor, should
(and ought to be) bold, brave,
and daring in taking the lead
and sharing the responsibilities
for alleviating the current crisis
If any one segment of
Oregon’s populace is to be af
fected by whatever measures
you decide to adopt, all
Oregonians should be affected
equally, including those people
most responsible, the Governor
and the Legislature
One possible emergency
measure that takes this condi
tion of equal sharing into ac
count is an emergency-sales
tax This may sound unpleasant,
but all our options sound un
pleasant at the moment Three
or four percent might be all that
would be necessary, and the bill
authorizing the emergency tax
should contain a specific time
limitation for the tax (such as
when the economy rebounds to
certain levels).
This emergency tax would af
fect everyone in Oregon equal
fy: the lawmakers the business
men, the workers, the farmers,
the students, and the tourists
This emergency tax would
help alleviate the current fiscal
predicament while equitably al
lowing ail Oregonians to help
This standard of sharing should
be kept in mind whatever you
decide to do
Rod Schattar
Box 3672, Eugane
Cut the top
Why is it that all the emer
gency plans for Oregon's Sys
tem of Higher Education never
mention cuts in administration?
So far, the plans call for overall
salary cuts for faculty and civil
service, eliminating faculty and
civil service positions, raising
tuition, lowering enrollment, but
never one word about adminis
tration!
For years the University has
had an across-the-board per
centage raise system whereby
those with the most get the most
and those with the least get the
least An attempt to install a
fairer system was completely
squashed by a faculty vote not
long ago It is now time to let the
across-the-board percentage
system work in reverse and to
make sure that administration
takes its share of cuts
Further, a long, hard look
should be taken at the adminis
trations of all the colleges and
universities in Oregon's system
in terms of eliminating
unneccessary positions and
getting overinflated administra
tive salaries in line with the rest
of the salaries in our schools
There will be shrieks of anguish
at such a proposal and it will be
loudly maintained that we need
high administrative salaries in
order to "competitive."
Competitive with what?
I think the real truth is that
administrations have always
controlled the money pipelines
Now that a real emergency is
upon us, school administrations
must take their fair share of
these proposed cuts
Edmund F. Soul•
Profmtsor Emarttu», Library