Dear Friends: The 2011 Legislative Session adjourned last Thursday mid-afternoon. With a 30-30 split in the House of Representatives, and a projected budget shortfall, we knew this Session would bring unique challenges. Yet, along with those challenges came unique opportunities. Oregonians should be proud of what has been accomplished in Salem during the last 5 months. I’d like to highlight some of those accomplishments for you: TAX CREDIT INCENTIVES Controlling costs; Investing Wisely in Oregon HB 3672 is the omnibus tax credits bill, the result of an historic and unique process of sun-setting and reviewing all tax credit expenditures by the state. The process began with HB 2067 from 2009, and created a system where each tax credit was evaluated against its peers, its value contrasted with its costs. Every program benefiting from a state tax credit had to justify its continuance. If we simply extended the sunset on the tax credits examined in this process, for six years, the cost in foregone revenue to the state general fund would have been astounding: $40 Million in 2011-13, $170 million in 2013-15, and $294 million in 2015-17. In a time of severe budget cuts, we could not afford not to make changes to these programs. In the next biennium, we’re reducing costs of extension by $30 million- from $40 million to $10 million. In the biennium after that, we are reducing the cost by over $110 million. And we have included spending caps, safety valves, transparency, and oversight that will help keep these tax credits from running away again. EDUCATION Providing a high quality education We protected the investments in early childhood education programs with the passage of Senate Bill 909, which establishes the Oregon Education Investment Board. The OEIB will oversee a unified public education system from zero to 20. This is critical to eliminating the silos in the current education system and moving toward an education model that coordinates the full spectrum of education, from pre-kindergarten to post secondary. HB 5020 & HB 5055 increase funding for Head Start, the program that prepares children from low-income families for kindergarten, improving their chances of success in school and later in life. The total budget for Head Start is 16.5% higher for the 2011-13 biennium than it was for the last biennium, a notable increase during a session where many allocations had to be cut to balance the budget. Senate Bill 248 – SB 248 sets up a funding mechanism for providing for full day kindergarten, at no cost to families, by 2015. Schools will be able to opt in to providing full day kindergarten but will no longer be able to charge tuition. Advocates cite long term benefits to both the individual children and society as a whole with increased learning time for kindergartners. House Bill 2960 – “Cool Schools” – Energy efficiency investments improve the classroom learning environment, cut utility costs and create jobs across Oregon. Senate Bill 175 – Major workforce development initiatives with the “Putting Oregon Back to Work Program” and the “Oregon Youth Employment Program.” This bill is aimed at helping dislocated workers return to the workforce, providing training and necessary job skills for ever evolving technology, and connecting employers with skilled candidates. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Creating Jobs & Rebuilding Oregon’s economy Senate Bill 494 – Access to Business Capital – Removes barriers to loans and capital for Oregon's small businesses by removing the sunset and making permanent the changes made in the Access to Business Capital Act, passed by the Legislature in February 2010. This is especially helpful in today’s tough credit market. Already, this measure has created hundreds of jobs across Oregon. House Bill 3000 – Buy Oregon First – Gives Oregon businesses the home team advantage by directing state agencies to buy their goods and services locally (as long as it costs no more than 10% more than what it would to buy them out-of-state). House Bill 3247 – “One Stop Shop” Business Portal and Registry – Helps businesses start, expand, relocate, or operate in Oregon by providing easy access to important business registration information and resources in one place. Senate Bill 219 – Business Retention and Expansion Program - Helps create the high wage, high skill jobs Oregon needs to grow our economy by establishing the Oregon Business Retention and Expansion Program (BEP), which will offer forgivable loans to encourage businesses to expand and locate in Oregon. The BEP incentive will be based on the estimated increase in new personal income tax revenue resulting from the new hires from the expansion or relocation of the business. PROTECTING OUR VULNERABLE, CONSUMER PROTECTION, & PUBLIC SAFETY Protecting middle class families and our most vulnerable Senate Bills 637 & 638 – Extending unemployment benefits to Oregonians who continue to struggle with finding work in this tough economy Senate Bill 514 - Ensures that children with high-risk medical conditions can get access to health insurance year-round instead of waiting for a short enrollment period Senate Bill 964 - Reforms Oregon’s foster care system to provide services and support to help keep families together when appropriate, helping avoid a child's placement in foster care, and ensuring safety and stability if a child returns home. During this busy legislative session, I served as chair of the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee; co-chair of the Joint Committee on Tax Expenditures; and also served on the Business, Transportation and Economic Development Committee and the Rules Committee. With our first-ever annual session just around the corner in 2012, we have much work to do in preparation. Over the summer I plan to attend a few conferences, visit with constituents, and develop new ideas for our upcoming legislative sessions. As always, I encourage you to share your ideas and thoughts with me as we work to mak Oregon the best it can be. Yours truly, 
Senator Burdick
Senate District 18 | 
900 Court St. NE, S-213 Salem Oregon 97301