Oregon Legislative Assembly Office of the Senate President Office of the House Speaker

News Release

 

Contact:  Robin Maxey                        Geoff Sugerman                  January 21, 2009

            (503) 986-1605                           (503) 986-1210

robin.maxey@state.or.us         geoff.sugerman@state.or.us

 

Leaders Say First Stimulus Bill

Will Create Jobs This Spring

 

(SALEM) -- House Speaker Dave Hunt and Senate President Peter Courtney announced Wednesday that first jobs and economic revitalization bill of the 2009 session should be on the Governor’s desk by the end of the first week in February, in time to qualify for proposed February sales of state-backed bonds.

 

“Unemployment in our state has reached a 23-year high. The only way out of this recession is to work ourselves out of it,” said Courtney (D-Salem/Gervais/Woodburn). “These projects represent an opportunity to put our people back to work all across Oregon and to start doing it this spring.”

 

“We will recover from this economic crisis through the hard work, creativity and commitment of Oregon businesses and workers. This stimulus package is the first step in providing the capital we need to get our economy going again’” said Hunt (D-Clackamas County)

 

If all parts of the proposal are approved, the first state stimulus package could create as many as 3,000 jobs in a matter of months.

 

Timeline:

 

Senate Bills 338 and 5562 will be the subject of a Public Hearing in front of the new Ways and Means Sub-Committee on Capital Construction and Information Technology at 5:30 p.m. today.

 

The Sub-Committee will hold a work session on the projects beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday. Courtney and Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) are co-chairs of the sub-committee.

 

The full Joint Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to consider the projects in Senate Bill 338 and Senate Bill 5562 authorizing the sale of bonds to fund the projects at 9 a.m. Friday.

 

Projects and Criteria:

 

The package is divided into several parts. One list of projects, totaling $122 million, developed by the Legislative Fiscal Office, represents projects in 11 state agencies in all 36 counties on which work can begin in April. That list also includes projects at Oregon universities.

 

Another component details projects at all 17 community colleges across the state. The community college list totals $51.5 million in bonding and local funds of $16.5 million for a total of $68 million in projects.  

 

The lists are available at http://www.leg.state.or.us/comm/lfo/

 

At the committee hearings legislators will also discuss a set of criteria for the projects to move forward. Included on that criteria list are projects that can begin right away with a long term benefit to the state that will either create jobs or prevent additional layoffs.

 

Agencies approved for projects must assure the Legislature that the projects will begin on time, have no cost overruns and agencies will report to the Legislature on March 1 on the status of the project, the number of jobs created or saved and the expected completion date.

 

Hunt and Courtney said they expect other capital construction bonding measures to be considered later in the session as part of the Legislature’s effort to create and protect  jobs statewide.