Dear Friends,
Great news!  The May 2007 Economic Forecast released this week indicated you will provide more tax revenue than originally anticipated to fund government programs that benefit you!  Between business taxes, the lottery and individual taxes, we will have $15.5 billion to spend in the fiscal years 2007-2009.  We are all hopeful this will provide enough revenue to fund the essential programs currently under-funded in the co-chair’s budget, without needing additional taxes.  Not needing to battle over additional taxes should allow us to “sine die” (end the session) on or before June 29. 
Saturday, May 19, is Armed Forces Day.  As a veteran myself, I wish to extend my deepest thanks and respect for those serving our country, and Josie and I send our prayers for the safety and quick return of those serving abroad.
Sincerely,
Gene

Revenue Forecast Shows Increased Economic Growth
The state economist reported this week that state revenue is about $180 million higher than originally projected.  This increase will allow increased funding in some sectors (see the note on increased funding for higher education below) and an increase in the amount of funding set aside in the “rainy day” account.  The revised revenue forecast shows that the state has the resources to fund its most important priorities without raising taxes.
In addition, the first quarter of 2007 marked the 15^th consecutive quarter of job growth in Oregon.  Robust sectors include leisure and hospitality, retail, and professional and business services.  The manufacturing sector in general is weaker, however unemployment remains stable.  Economically, Oregon experienced limited fallout from the sub-prime mortgage problem – delinquency rate has risen slightly – but overall, Oregon is second lowest among the 50 states for loan defaults. 

Co-Chairs Support Increased Funding for Higher Education
As a result of the positive revenue forecast, the Ways and Means Co-Chairs have increased funding for the state’s universities and community colleges.  The additional dollars will bring funding closer to pre-recession levels and will support more frequent course offerings, more technical classes, new classroom buildings and laboratory facilities, continued support for expanded scholarships under the Shared Responsibility Model and improvements in compensation to retain and recruit top-notch faculty.  The increases include $15 million for various projects in the Oregon University System and $37 million for community colleges. 

Bill Status Report
Many of the bills I sponsored have passed out of at least one committee and are still in play.  Here is a brief rundown of the bills that will benefit Deschutes County.
       House Concurrent Resolution 9 recognizes La Pine as Oregon’s newest city has passed both chambers and is awaiting the Governor’s signature.
        House Bill 3530, which allows La Pine to borrow against its anticipated revenues passed the House and is in the Senate Revenue Committee.  I have written and spoken to the Chair Senator Ryan Deckert asking him to move the bill and I am confident the bill will move forward soon. 
    House Bills 3445 and 3442, the two Sunriver law enforcement bills, passed the House and are scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.  
     A bill we introduced for Deschutes County Commission on Children and Families and the State Coalition of County Commissions, House Bill 3441,  passed out of the Judiciary Committee and is currently in the Ways and Means process.  I have written the House co-chair and the Sub-committee chair requesting this bill be heard.  
     House Bill 3067, an extremely important bill for Deschutes County Mental Health and Addiction Treatment, passed the House and the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, and should be on the Senate floor next week.  
Lastly, House Bill 3537, my priority bill to exempt Habitat for Humanity ReStores from paying property taxes has passed the House and is in the Senate Revenue Committee.  I wrote the chair requesting a hearing and I anticipate progress soon. 
Though I’ve had success with these bills, one bill that was important to me – and our fallen soldiers – died in the House.  House Bill 3443 was modeled after a federal ban preventing demonstrations at military funerals. The lawyer who drafted the bill advised me that, under Oregon’s Constitution, the proposal would probably be found unconstitutional.  In order to remedy this, I introduced a parallel bill, House Joint Resolution 52, which would have referred it to a vote of the people.  The bills received courtesy hearings in the House Judiciary Committee and House Veterans Committee, but neither of them were voted on, even though I testified that Ohio courts recently upheld the federal ban on demonstration at military funerals.

Bills of Interest This Week
On Monday, I testified before the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services in favor of HB 3067, which requires DHS to use current population data to help calculate the State’s distribution of mental health and addiction funding to the counties.  With the rapid population growth in Deschutes County, this should result in a more fair distribution of funding for these county needs.  The bill passed out of committee unanimously and will now move to the Senate floor.
I also testified before the joint Ways and Means Health Services Committee on the budget for the Oregon Commission on Children and Families.  I served on the County Commission for over six years, including terms as vice chair and chair, and now serve on the State Commission as the member from the House of Representatives.  I pointed out that the commission leverages its funding to both generate further donations and reduce future drains on state programs.  Funding goes towards prevention at the state-wide level and to support county commissions addressing local needs. 
In reaction to the recent contamination of pet and animal food, the House unanimously passed House Bill 3556, a measure to create a Food Safety Task Force.  The Task Force will review issues surrounding pet food safety, animal safety and prose any necessary changes needed to protect our agriculture industry and its consumers.  The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Patti Smith (R-Corbett) introduced the bill to ensure that our food supply is safe, especially in today’s global economy.

Committee Work
Education Committee
On Wednesday, we passed many significant education bills.  First, Senate Bill 800A would require accountants to perform school district audits.  This bill requires school districts, like any other government agency, to conduct financial audits.  The Oregon Department of Education will monitor the audit reports.  I have continuously supported increased education funding - but only with accountability.  I stated during the work session that I would have preferred performance audits, but this is a good first step in providing the taxpayers accountability. 
Senate Bill 23 would increase the Expanded Options Program which allows high school students to attend Community College courses for credit.  This is a good program that prepares kids for college.  
Senate Bill 318 outlines how dollars in the School Improvement Fund grants will be implemented.  It took 15 amendments to gain consensus and I drafted a few of those to reflect the needs of Deschutes County.  In the end, the formula for distribution was settled on and the grants will be awarded for programs to increase student achievements.
I voted against Senate Bill 392, which passed with a 6-2 vote.  This bill lowers the mandatory age required for school attendance from 7 to 6 years old.  I received hundreds of emails from parents requesting that I oppose this bill and I did because I strongly believe this should be the parents’ decision.  When I researched the issue I discovered that Washington State has 8 years old as its mandatory attendance age.
Judiciary Committee
In committee, we are hearing only Senate Bills and House bills amended by the Senate as we rush to close most committees this month. I have voted for most bills but voted NO on two bills in committee on Thursday.  Senate Bill 597 expands category of persons who may enter into written agreements with adoptive parents to continue contact with adopted child to include birth relatives.  I agree with the intent of the bill but the original bill was amended to exclude an agreement with adoptive parents and relatives.  I am a firm believer that in most cases the more loving connection a child has the better chance of a successful live a child has.  Second, I and the other Republican members of the Committee voted to not add variable annuities to the definition of security for purposes of Oregon Securities law.  The bill passed 5-4.  We saw this additional oversight as unnecessary and we will be filing a ‘minority report’ to address our concerns.  I am optimistic that the House will vote for the minority report and thus will address the problems with the bill as written.

Classroom Law Project
On Wednesday, I judged the Classroom Law Project competition here at the Capito.  Classroom Law Project is a private organization which promotes civics education for our youth.  They hold competitive events for students and this is the third competition I’ve judged.  This year,  I was a committee member which heard four middle school teams debate “due process” issues.   Congratulations go to the team from La Pine for their great work.  It takes a lot to qualify for the state competition and I’m very proud of all the time and hard work they put in.