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Earlier news indicated that the budget hole for the current biennium was $855 million. Now, with the use of stimulus funds, various account raids, and budget cuts, the legislature has rebalanced the state's budget.
Of the $2.2 billion in direct payments expected to come to Oregon from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $401 million was immediately available and allocated for the current budget cycle.
While cuts to schools via the State School Fund were not as bad as originally foretold and most districts will be able to use their own reserves to backfill, other education program accounts did go under the knife. The Community Colleges and Workforce Development Account, interest earned in the School Improvement Fund, and the Special Education Account were all diverted to the General Fund.
Reserve accounts raided for $150 million include Tobacco Settlement Funds, Insurance Fund, Educators Benefit Account, Credit Enhancement Fund, Trust for Cultural Development Account, Connecting Oregon Communities Fund, Community Development Fund, Employment Departments Special Administrative Fund, JOBS Plus Unemployment Wage Fund, Problem Gambling Treatment Fund, Community Mental Health Housing Fund, natural resources' Orphan Site Account, a low emission vehicles program account, Waste Tire Recycling Account, Underground Storage Tank Insurance Fund, Water Development and Bond Sinking Fund, Tumalo Project Fund, Fish and Wildlife Deferred Maintenance Subaccount, Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Accounts, Police Standards and Training Account, and the State Fire Marshall Fund.
State agency program cuts total $311 million and include state troopers (39 of them), courts (over $5 million and probably closed on Fridays), 911 emergency communication funds (almost $6 million), and county economic development funding ($2 million). Shared revenue owed to local governments was slashed more than $2.2 million.
But this just clears the immediate hurdle and the high-jump remains to be contended with. The 2009-2011 budget is already predicted to fall more than $3 billion short of needed revenue. The legislature intends to apply the rest of the stimulus fund, consider using $750 million in state rainy day funds, and make some additional budget cuts in order to pass a Constitutionally mandated balanced budget by the end of June.
Oregon Business Second to One
According to Chuck Sheketoff, executive director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, a new study done by the accounting firm Ernst & Young found that Oregon has the second lowest state and local business taxes among all states and that businesses get a better deal for the taxes they pay in Oregon than just about anywhere else in the country. Only North Carolina has lower business taxes than Oregon, according to the study.
The study's data suggest that Oregon's state and local business taxes are so low that the state could raise business taxes by $1.6 billion annually and still be in line with state and local business taxes nationwide.
The Oregon State Legislature has often been reminded that Oregon's business tax structure, most specifically its corporate minimum, is amiss. Legislation introduced so far this session to address this include HB 2070, HB 2119, HB 2773, HB 2913 and HB 2935 all raising the corporate minimum for tax due by Oregon businesses.
Tax Credit for Political Race or for Human Race
For quite some time, Oregonians have been able to receive a full tax credit up to $100 for political contributions. But donations mad to non-profits have garnered only a partial tax deduction. Why this discrepancy? Why is more value placed on campaigns than on compassion? SB 909 seeks to bring parity to these two choices allowing both types of contributions to be met with a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for Oregonians who give.
An Economic Stimulus Idea - this one is closer to home
House Republicans just introduced HB 3095 which they are calling the "Main Street Incentive Plan." Their plan encourages businesses and homeowners to immediately invest in improvements to their property through a tax credit. Those credits would cost the state about $45 million a year over the next five years, but the return would be $400 million in new investments in Oregon and 6,000 jobs.
With enactment of HB 3095, 50% of the cost of capital construction could be claimed by the property owners at tax time and those pursuing "green" projects would qualify for a 100% tax credit over five years.
Secondary effects adding to the bottom line of the proposal are the resulting property tax increases.
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Request for ProposalsDeadline for Responses: Friday, March 13, 5pmOn Thursday, April 23rd, AIA Oregon will hold its biennial "Day at the Legislature" event in Salem. The event is planned to promote AIA Oregon's High Performance Buildings legislation (see other posts), as well as the goals of the 2030 Challenge, and their role in shaping the future of Oregon's building industry and economy.
One component of this half-day event has been the display and demonstration of high performance projects and building concepts. These displays and demonstrations will be presented in the main ground floor space in the Capitol Building. The planning committee for this event is soliciting proposals for displays or demonstrations that will reinforce the event's promotion of high performance and sustainable buildings, and the economic growth potential that they represent.
Participants:
The success of AIA Oregon's high performance building legislation will require the support of a broad, diverse coalition. To that end, we encourage participation from the following:
- Students or Faculty involved in programs related to the green building industry.
- Architectural design and engineering professionals, or firms.
- Construction industry companies and trades.
- Product manufacturers or process developers.
Display or Demonstration Formats:The committee has identified four potential types of displays or demonstrations that can be accommodated in the available space at the State Capitol Building
- Design or information display boards
- Small scale demonstrations or displays.
- Larger scale demonstrations.
- Digital format boards for display via projection.
The planning committee is looking for ideas that will engage, educate and inspire a changing audience of people passing by in the Capitol. The audience will include the general public, professionals participating in our event, state legislators, and others doing business at the capitol.
The planning committee is requesting that proposals be submitted by March 13th and by email to aiaoregon@aiaportland.org.
The planning committee will inform all respondants of their selection or non-selection by Monday, March 23rd.
Participating exhibitors may be responsible for delivery, set up, and take-down of their demonstrations at the State Capitol on the day of the event. More information will be provided by AIA Oregon at a later date.
Questions about this Request for Proposals or about the April 23rd event may be addressed to Stuart Weir at AIA Oregon: aiaoregon@aiaportland.org.
Download RFP Here.
Senate Bill 448
(download pdf here)
IssueWhen looking at energy conservation and a sustainable future for the State of Oregon, focus has been on energy use and alternative energy sources. Often, the process by which buildings are originally designed and constructed are overlooked as having a huge impact on our environment. Implementation of green building practices will further the State's efforts to become a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship.
A current Executive Order to build to green standards based on LEED Silver guidelines is both diluted and impermanent. The Executive Order does not require certification, it merely sets forth a benchmark agencies are asked to reach for. According to DAS, there is no tracking of how these projects actually end up being designed let alone constructed.
Ideally, AIA would like that the public sector as well as the private sector should use nationally recognized green building standards. But first and foremost, the public sector should lead by example. Hence, we have limited our language to only effect certain state buildings. An Executive Order is not as strong as a statement of public policy as enacted legislation. This policy must be in statute in order to show Oregon's dedication to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Background
- Development and construction practices are significant contributors to the depletion of natural resources and a major cause of air and water pollution, solid waste, deforestation, toxic wastes, health hazards, global warming, and other negative consequences.
- Buildings use one-quarter of all the world's wood harvest, consume two-fifths of all materials and energy flows, and account for more than one-third of CO2 emissions.
- The State of Oregon, through legislation and executive order have shown that they recognize their responsibility to implement and promote building practices that protect the quality of the air, water, and other natural resources; reduce construction practices that impact native fish, vegetation, wildlife and other ecosystems; and minimize the use of energy and human impact on local and worldwide ecosystems.
- The City of Portland requires the use of USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards that identify a range of actions that define green buildings and establish certification processes for new and existing buildings.
- Other standards are emerging and improving, such as the Green Building Institute's Green Globes system, and these standards should have the opportunity to prove their merits in Oregon. Oregon must maintain the flexibility to adjust requirements when national standards evolve and excel.
PositionAIA Oregon's High Performance Building legislation requires construction and renovation of "major buildings" to meet Department of Energy adopted green building design standards and to be certified at the highest standard a 20-year life cycle cost analysis merits.
"Major buildings" is defined as any state-owned building having 10,000 square feet or more of usable floor space, and does not include affordable housing, residential or K-12 school projects. "Renovation" is defined as any addition to, alteration of or repair of a facility which will involve the facility's energy systems, provided that the effected energy systems account for 50 percent or more of the facility's total energy use.
Within the High Performance Building legislation, the Oregon Department of Energy is required to adopt national recognized green building standards and also implement guidelines that encourage the use of products harvested, made and mined in Oregon.
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