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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 4, 2020)
in other words june4 2020 3 Salem Report By State Representative Brad Witt State lawmakers re- ceived the June 2020 Economic and Revenue Forecast on May 20, and due to the pandemic, we are looking at a $2.7 bil- lion shortfall for the 2019-21 biennium. Oregon is in a COVID-19 caused eco- nomic recession, and it is expected to take years to fully recover. In all, the state economists project a loss of $10.5 billion over the next five years. With the Phase I reopening in most Oregon counties, people are begin- ning to go back to work, but until there is an effective treatment or vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the economy will not return to normal. Initially, with the reopening of the economy we will see a strong but incomplete rebound in consumer spending. This will result in slower growth over the next year, or un- til effective medical treatment is wide- ly available. After that, we should see stronger economic growth, with projec- tions having the state’s economy return to health by the mid-decade. This is a world-wide pandemic, with the greatest impacts in the United States. The federal government has stepped up with stimulus checks, which provided $4 billion to Oregon house- holds. Expanded unemployment benefit programs, provided another $7 billion to displaced workers, and the Paycheck Protection Program funneled another $6.83 billion into businesses in the state. These programs are slated to end this summer. Oregon’s revenue outlook is volatile due to our state’s reliance on personal and business income taxes. Video lottery terminals were also shut down for eight weeks, but are now com- ing back online for counties in the Phase I reopening. Oregonians are demonstrat- ing their pent up demand for gaming, and lottery terminals are already at about 60% of normal play. Due to the eco- nomic uncertainty and limited incomes, lottery revenue is not expected to reach pre-recession levels anytime soon. Normally, state economists would have a clearer picture of income tax revenue by now, but the filing dead- line was pushed from April 15 to July 15 to match the federal 90-day tax fil- ing extension. Not surprisingly, people who will be receiving refunds have been filing their forms, and those who owe money are waiting to file. Oregon’s re- cord $1.7 billion personal kicker is being distributed, $1 billion is already sent and the rest will be expended with the later filings. In anticipation of the projected multi-billion dollar shortfall, Governor Brown asked all state agencies to reduce their budgets by 17%. These across the board budget cuts would help bring state spending in line with the revenue short- fall, but the unilateral approach is argu- ably not the best way to accomplish this goal. We need more targeted cuts and spending to meet the needs of our agen- cies and the citizens they serve. I strongly believe that a Spe- cial Session of the Oregon Legislature needs to be convened to take up these important budgetary issues. Oregon has received $1.39 billion through the fed- eral CARES act, and we have $1.6 bil- lion in reserves. The decisions on how to best allocate these billions of dollars and determining the necessary budget cuts in the interest of our state and citizenry should now go to the people’s elected representatives… the sooner the better, in my opinion. During this pandemic-caused economic crisis, hundreds of thousands of Oregon families have been counting on their unemployment benefits to pay for their basic needs. The Oregon Em- ployment Department has paid a record number of claims within two to three weeks, but for nearly 38,000 Orego- nians, their claims are in a backlog. My staff and I have been work- ing with constituents and state employ- ment officials resolving unemployment issues on a daily basis since this CO- VID-19 pandemic caused Oregon’s eco- nomic shutdown. If you are still having problems, we want to help and are will- ing and able to step up and do our best to help you obtain whatever benefits are owed you. If you would like our assis- tance, please reach out to me by email, and supply your contact information, unemployment insurance claim number, and current address. We will then chan- nel your requests to the appropriate per- son to best address your needs. Oregon’s Employment Depart- ment has been overwhelmed with un- employment applications, we are reach- ing unemployment rates not seen since the Great Depression. The agency has launched Project Focus 100, a new ef- fort to work through 100 percent of the claim backlog. To accomplish this goal they will: • Continue Surge Hiring. The depart- ment has increased staffing to process claims. They now have more than six times the number of people processing claims than were in place before the CO- VID-19 claims began. Hiring and train- ing of new employees will help facilitate every Oregonian receiving the benefits in a timely fashion. • Focus experienced professional staff on the oldest and most complex claims. For the next two weeks the department will increase outbound calls to resolve claims that have been waiting the lon- gest. Newer staff will answer the phones, freeing up the more experienced staff to dig into the more difficult cases. • Increase proactive contact and commu- nication. There is nothing more frustrat- ing than not knowing the status of your claim, so the department is piloting new ways to contact Oregonians to update them on pertinent claim information. • Use technology to close gaps and im- prove services. These new strategies are already moving claims through pro- cessing, and the department is working to streamline and improve them. Even with automation, and im- proved technology, it’s helpful to have a person on your side helping to navigate these frustrating times, and that’s where I hope my staff and I can be of assis- tance. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out for our help. from Natural Resource Industries, orga- nizations and constituencies, including the Commercial Fishing and Processing, Forestry and Forest Products, Commerce and Transportation, Outdoor Sports and Recreation, and Conservation and Envi- ronmental sectors. As is the case with many pub- lic spaces, the Capitol Building remains closed to the public, but my office staff and I monitor our email and phone daily, and we are working to assist constitu- ents. If you need help or have an issue or concern please feel free to contact my office. Email: Rep.BradWitt@oregonlegislature.gov Phone: (503) 986-1431 Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-382, Salem, OR, 97301 Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/witt While the majority of Oregon counties have entered into the Phase I reopening, Marion County is still under the most restrictive stay-at-home or- ders. That is why the Legislative Days Committee meetings will be held re- motely over the next couple of weeks. On March 28 I chaired the House Natural Resources Committee, where we took testimony about how the COVID-19 virus is impacting our natural resources. More importantly, we focused on the witness’ suggestions as to what policy improvements our state should take to ameliorate the problems that are identified. The committee will received reports on the Natural Resource Agen- cies response to the COVID-19 pan- demic. Invited speakers were from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wild- life, Oregon Parks and Recreation, and Department of Forestry. This was followed by reports Contributors Corrie Aiuto Jason Holley Jack Kauppila Flo Lennox Superintendent Aaron Miller Leah Sottile Representative Brad Witt Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Want to advertise? Have an article? Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com One year subscriptions (24 issues) $35 Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1 st and 3 rd Thursday of each month. Vernonia’s Voice, LLC PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 Cedar Side Inn Need more room? See us for the lowest prices GUARANTEED! Debit/Credit now accepted Specialty Pizzas Taco Tuesday 5x10 $39 10x10 $69 10x20 $99 RV Storage $149 Outside storage available Totally fenced and gated Padlocks available 58605 Nehalem Hwy South • P.O. Box 292 Vernonia, Oregon 97064 (503) 429-7867 from opening until 9 pm 3 hardshell or 1 softshell $4.25 11:00 am - 9:45 pm Every day 10-6 Tue-Sat 12-4 Sun Check our Facebook page for daily specials 756 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-5841