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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2018)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Thursday, November 29, 2018 Brown sets ambitious course to begin final term Governor’s budget includes $2 billion education increase Brown unveils budget for 2019-21 Gov. Kate Brown addresses increased spending for schools, energy issues and law enforcement in her proposed two-year state budget plan. General Fund By AUBREY WIEBER and CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown stood at her lectern in the walnut-paneled cer- emonial office Wednesday morning to deliver a sym- bolic message as she released a budget she characterized as “ambitious.” “Oregon’s motto is not ‘She rests on her laurels.’ It is ‘She flies with her own wings.’ And I think it’s time for Oregon to soar,” Brown told reporters. In revealing ambitions for her final term, Brown announced a record expan- sion of school funding, a revamping of the state approach to energy issues and readying for legal bat- tle against the Trump administration. Under her proposed two- year budget, school kids would have smaller classes and more teachers, more Oregonians could find hous- ing, and the state’s highway would be patrolled by more troopers. Overall, she is proposing a total two-year state bud- Photo by Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter Oregon Gov. Kate Brown presents her proposed budget on Wednesday at the Capitol in Salem. get of $83.5 billion, includ- ing $22.3 billion in general fund spending. Currently, the state is working off a $74 billion budget that includes $19.8 billion in general fund money, which primarily comes from tax collections. Brown unveiled her spending blueprint at a news conference at the Capitol. Her ideas now face the legislative gauntlet and certain modifi- cation before the new budget cycle starts next July 1. Part of that process will be finding the money to make such a large investment in education. State Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, said he believes there is bipartisan appetite for such a budget. In fact, as a member of an interim com- mittee looking into educa- tion funding, Knopp said he thinks the Legislature will ultimately pass a larger, more expensive education package than Brown is proposing. FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy with a shower A rain or snow shower in spots Mostly cloudy and chilly Partly sunny and chilly 45° 38° 47° 35° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 41° 31° 40° 27° 38° 26° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 50° 35° 45° 33° 45° 28° OREGON FORECAST 41° 28° ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle 46/33 47/29 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 46/37 Lewiston 50/42 47/39 Astoria 51/41 Pullman Yakima 46/35 50/38 50/35 Portland Hermiston 52/41 The Dalles 47/38 Salem Corvallis 50/37 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 44/31 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 49/40 42/29 45/34 Ontario 46/33 Caldwell Burns 53° 33° 44° 30° 67° (2014) 0° (1931) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 50/40 Trace 0.29" 1.10" 6.74" 8.76" 8.38" WINDS (in mph) 46/33 38/25 0.01" 0.50" 1.36" 8.65" 15.26" 11.35" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 42/29 52/40 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 45/38 46/36 55° 39° 43° 30° 71° (1892) -13° (1896) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 51/38 49/40 44/32 42/33 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 51/42 Olympia Today 50/37 Fri. NNE 3-6 NW 4-8 Boardman Pendleton Medford SW 4-8 WSW 6-12 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 43/27 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 7:13 a.m. 4:14 p.m. 11:35 p.m. 12:46 p.m. Last New First Full Nov 29 Dec 6 Dec 15 Dec 22 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 79° in Borrego Springs, Calif. Low -3° in Daniel, Wyo. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 57.8 13.6 42.6 44.3 44.2 2009-11 Total FTEs: 38,197.6 2011-13 Total FTEs: 37,573.6 2013-15 Total FTEs: 37,835.8 61.1 15.6 54.5 51 2015-17 Total FTEs: 38,615.3 2017-19 Total FTEs: 39,464 2019-21 Total FTEs: 41,100 NOTES: Sums may not equal totals due to rounding. FTE=Full Time Equivalents, or the number of positions equal to a full-time employee. TODAY Aberdeen 59.8 55.9 13.3 74.4 19.9 55.9 18 Source: Legislative Fiscal Office, Oregon State Legislature Forecast for Pendleton Area 47° 38° Other budget (Billions of dollars) $83.5 billion: Up 12.2% from 2017-19 22.3 20s flurries 30s snow 40s ice 50s cold front — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low “I think the governor’s proposal is a great starting point, and there are likely to be additional investments that need to be made,” he said. Over the past three decades, Oregon has ignored education spending, Brown said Wednesday. The state has fallen into a housing cri- sis and has failed to fight cli- mate change. With a strong economy, now is the time to reach to the state’s potential, she said. “We can no longer do things the way we have in the past,” Brown said. “We must go up as a state, and we need to decide together what kind of state we want to be over the next 20 years.” Ready for the future Days before Brown won re-election, she told the Cap- ital Bureau her legacy would be Future Ready Oregon, her comprehensive policy designed to steer the state’s economy for generations while withstanding eco- nomic downturns. The building blocks for that can be found through- out her proposed budget, from the $2 billion increase in education funding to the construction of up to 2,100 affordable homes to increases in child welfare services. “She’s been around long enough to know this is her four years of opportunity,” said Katy Coba, director of the Department of Adminis- trative Services. “This bud- get does lay that ground work.” Coba has been in state politics for more than two decades, and led the state Department of Agriculture before Brown appointed her to run DAS in 2016. She said with a strong economy and a Legislature favorable to Brown’s policies, the “stars aligned.” “It is truly a historic opportunity for a governor to put together an aggressive budget, and that is exactly what this governor has done,” Coba said. Brown clearly was focused on schools. According to the pro- posed budget, education is now underfunded by $1 bil- lion per year. To counter that, Brown is proposing spending $800 million of her new edu- cation dollars on bolstering the K-12 system, expanding the school year to 180 days and limiting class sizes for kindergarten through third grade. The proposed budget opens up 10,000 new state- funded preschool slots and dedicates $4 million for state visits to homes with young children. The governor has also made career technical train- ing a larger part of pub- Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Circulation Manager: Bonny Tuller, 541-966-0828 lic education, proposing an additional $133 million goes to CTE programs in public schools and $70 million goes to colleges. Knopp said the emphasis on early learning and CTE is vital. “That is one thing we have seen has made a dif- ference in graduation rates,” he said. But Knopp said the Student Success Committee isn’t done. It toured the state and found that each region has different needs, and the committee plans to address them. “I think you are going to see some equally ambi- tious proposals from the Stu- dent Success Committee in improving education,” he said. Other priorities While education is a huge part of her investment pack- age, Brown also wants to allocate $406 million to the state’s housing crisis, spend- ing on new affordable units, housing assistance programs, providing gap financing for new construction, and fund- ing efforts to eradicate child and veteran homelessness in Oregon. Brown also unveiled her blueprint for Oregon to implement cap, trade and invest policy for car- bon emissions. It would set gradually tighter limits for emissions and allow compa- nies to sell any excess emis- sions capacity in the form of credits. Those credits could then be sold to other compa- nies who exceed the limits. Similar legislation has been cycling through the Legisla- ture in recent years. Less expected, however, is Brown’s proposal to dis- mantle the Oregon Depart- ment of Energy and Car- bon Policy Office and create the Oregon Climate Author- ity. Brown needs legisla- tive approval to make the change and it’s unclear what would happen to other duties in the beleaguered Energy Department. Brown’s policy advisors, Jason Miner and Kristen Sheeran, said the Legislature will look at what the state wants to accomplish, and put responsibilities that fit under Oregon Climate Authority and move the others to dif- ferent agencies, such as the Department of Environmen- tal Quality. Sheeran said the state is leaving the option open to join an existing third-party marketplace that several governments in the U.S. and Canada use to trade but might start its own marketplace. While the logistics are still being figured out, Sheeran said this new agency is groundbreaking and unlike any other in the nation. The policies are flashy and expensive, but they are also what Brown cam- paigned on. Issues, such as education spending and a carbon cap, have been exam- ined in recent months by leg- islative committees. “We’re tackling some big things: education, health care, climate,” Coba said. ADVERTISING Regional Publisher and Revenue Director: Christopher Rush 541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com Advertising Services: Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Claire Withycombe and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group “Those are all big, big items. And yet, there seems to be a lot of political alignment, so it’s not coming out of left field. These things are teed up.” Other policies In addition to the more eye-catching pillars of the budget, Brown is propos- ing other impactful poli- cies throughout. The Oregon State Police is funded by the general fund, where there is always high competition for dollars. As a result, trooper numbers have not kept pace with population increases, and there are now eight troopers for every 100,000 Oregonians. Brown plans to double the number of troopers in the next decade, and is starting by allocating $11 million to fill vacancies and add 10 new positions. She also said she will seek modest gun con- trol legislation and follow up on the campaign promise of spending in rural Oregon. The governor shared other proposals to change the state that don’t cost tens or hun- dreds of millions of dollars. She wants to push for cam- paign finance reform, estab- lish a commission to look into “dark money” and a real- time reporting of spending and contributions for politi- cal campaigns. She also wants to expand her motor voter policy so Oregonians buying fishing licenses, taking public col- lege classes or signing up for health care through the state exchange automatically will be registered to vote, as they are now when regis- tering with the DMV. Addi- tionally, Brown is propos- ing that mailed ballots come with return envelopes carry- ing prepaid postage. “This has been a dream for me since my days as sec- retary of state,” Brown said. Brown said legally, she has the authority to make this change, though she hasn’t talked with Secretary of State Dennis Richardson about expanding motor voter. She said the expansion will be gradual and in line with com- puter improvements. The budget plan also includes $875 million from new and renewed taxes and penalties, including a $2 per- pack cigarette tax. She also plans to hire 13 internal state agency auditors to look for ways to be more efficient. Funding for Brown’s investment proposals have not been worked out. Brown said she is committed to her policy ideas, and believes Oregonians want to pay for these investments. In the 2019 Legislature, Brown said she will work with lawmakers as well as the backers of the Common Good Fund, comprised of businesses like Nike as well as unions, to come up with revenue. “It’s going to take more than legislators and myself and members of the busi- ness community to make this happen,” Brown said. “It’s going to take all of us rowing together.” Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Business Office Manager: 541-966-0822 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com