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8A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2016 Budget: Lawmakers have yet to propose other forms of revenue Continued from Page 1A “I present this budget as a short-term solution,” Brown said. “It is the starting place for a broader conversation about how best to align our resources with our shared val- ues and vision to move Oregon forward.” She unveiled her two-year budget proposal at an event in her ceremonial office at the Capitol. Brown proposed funding to maintain existing services at the K-12 level, while boosting allocations for two college tui- tion assistance programs — the Oregon Opportunity Grant and Oregon Promise. Despite Brown’s claim that the plan would maintain K-12 funding, the Oregon School Boards Association issued a statement saying the proposal falls short by about $500 mil- lion “of what schools are tell- ing us they need just to main- tain current services.” The budget for higher edu- cation will remain flat despite increases in costs for existing services, which could mean col- leges and universities will have to consider program cuts or tui- tion hikes. Brown’s budget plan also preserves the number of clients who receive subsidies for health insurance under the federal Affordable Care Act. Proposed cuts are less severe than the 10 to 15 percent across-the-board reductions Brown had predicted before the November election. State agencies face cuts averaging 4.2 percent, but the cuts vary according to the agency. Education at the K-12 level faces no cuts, while health care could sustain 16 to 25 percent reductions in general fund rev- enue, said George Naughton, chief financial officer at the state Department of Adminis- trative Services. Agencies are charged with finding specific reductions, such as attrition of nonessen- tial positions and reduction in travel, Brown said. Other cost-cutting measures call for closing the state psychi- atric hospital in Junction City and the North Coast Youth Cor- rectional Facility in Warrenton, slashing funding to a program that helps people with devel- opmental disabilities and elim- inating a program for families with children who have special needs. Brown moderated the cuts by proposing several increases in targeted taxes and assess- ments and closing two tax loop- holes. Those measures would bring in about $897 million in new revenue. The tobacco tax would increase by 85 cents per pack under her plan, and a liquor surcharge would climb from 50 cents to $1 a bottle. The plan also involves increasing assess- ments on hospitals and insurers to the tune of $530 million. Not enough tax revenue State Republican House Leader Mike McLane of Pow- ell Butte said the state contin- ues on “an unsustainable fiscal path.” “Despite record revenues and despite what has been described as a roaring state economy, we are being told we don’t have enough tax revenue to cover the tab,” McLane said. He said lawmakers need to reduce spending before asking for more taxes. Much of the state’s shortfall stems from reductions in fed- eral funds for the Affordable Care Act and the unfunded lia- bility of the Public Employees Retirement System. And the business commu- nity has signaled it wants PERS reforms before accepting any new business taxes. An Oregon Supreme Court ruling in 2015 scuttled many of the pension reforms law- makers had sought to make in the past, and lawmakers will be curtailed by that ruling in any future attempts at reform. The governor had endorsed a corporate sales tax measure in November that would have boosted state revenue by $6 billion every two years. With Measure 97’s defeat, Brown has backed away and taken a hands-off approach to reve- nue reform and proposing any additional taxes on business. Lawmakers on the Legisla- ture’s revenue committees are discussing potential revenue packages. Brown’s proposal “will definitely prompt debate,” said Senate President Peter Court- ney, D-Salem, in a statement. “Oregon faces enormous bud- get challenges for the next two years. Meeting those challenges will require us all to work together. The process doesn’t end today. It is just beginning.” The next step is for the Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee to propose a budget early next year. Com- mittee members will seek pub- lic input on those proposals. Lawmakers have yet to make any concrete propos- als for other forms of revenue. Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, chairman of the Senate reve- nue committee, said lawmakers are discussing reviving a pro- posal for a commercial activity tax that he and Rep. Mark John- son, R-Hood River, tried to pass this year as an alternative to Measure 97. The tax would have less of an impact on cor- porations but also would raise significantly less revenue than Measure 97. The Capital Bureau is a col- laboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. WARRENTON KIA CAR SALE! D ECEMBER 8-10 9 AM -7 PM Ent to Win er $500 V a Gift Ca isa rd! 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Continued from Page 1A treatment, gang prevention and parole violators. “We met with North Coast staff, including school staff, earlier this week, and we are committed to doing all we can to support them,” Oregon Youth Authority Director Fari- borz Pakseresht said in a state- ment. “It is too soon to tell all of the impacts this proposal could have, but given the current bud- get climate, it is hard to imag- ine a scenario where we could avoid closing North Coast. “We are working with our labor partners to help every affected employee at North Coast who wants to stay with OYA find a job. We also are connecting with other agen- cies to identify employment options in the Warrenton area for OYA staff who are unable to relocate.” The Youth Authority pro- vides the equivalent of 45 full- time positions at the facility, with an annual payroll of about $2.5 million. The Northwest Regional Education Service District employs two teach- ers and five educational assis- tants at the facility’s South Jetty High School, an option for the incarcerated to earn diplomas, take the General Educational Development exam and learn trades. Heartbreaking Sapper, the superinten- dent of the North Coast facil- ity since last year, helped open it at Camp Rilea in 1997, and at the current location near the Clatsop County Animal Shelter in 1998. He said up to half the pop- ulation at any given time is gang-affiliated. The facility helps wean inmates off drugs and out of the gang lifestyle. South Jetty High School has been lauded as a success, with one of the highest graduation rates of any youth correctional facility in the state. Sapper said 30 incarcerated students earned their diplomas last year, with another 15 completed so far this year. The Warrenton-Ham- mond School District had oper- ated the school throughout most of the North Coast facil- ity’s history, but ended the con- tract earlier this year. Brown’s proposed bud- get would increase the Youth Authority’s funding over the next biennium from $398 mil- lion to nearly $416 million. The North Coast facility had a bud- get of $9.7 million over the past two-year cycle. The governor’s budget calls for an increase in the agency’s staff from 1,022 to 1,041. But the expansion would largely be among part time workers, with a proposed decrease in the overall number of budgeted staff hours equivalent to nearly 20 full-time positions. First closure The budget cuts, and the potential closure of the North Coast correctional facility, are tied to the failure of Mea- sure 97, a controversial corpo- rate tax that voters rejected in November. State economists estimated the tax would have created $3 billion a year in new revenue. The facility previously closed amid budget cuts in 2003 after the failure of Mea- sure 28, which would have cre- ated a 1 percent increase in the state income tax to help bridge the state’s shortfalls. At the time, the facility housed 75 youth offenders from surrounding counties, incarcer- ated on charges from sexual harassment to homicide. The closure cost 100 positions and $3.5 million in local payroll. Many of the youth offenders were transfered to MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, with some sent to smaller facilities or released. The North Coast facil- ity reopened one housing unit in 2003 and a second in 2004, albeit with a smaller population and a specialization on serving offenders with substance-abuse problems. 2017 SORENTO 2016 OPTIMA 2017 FORTE 2017 Sorento SX Limited V6, 2016 Optima SX Limited, and 2017 Forte EX with optional features shown. Some features may vary. 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