Oregon Gov. Kate Brown took the oath of office Monday and delivered her State of the State address.
Brown, a Democrat, became governor when former governor John Kitzhaber resigned in February 2015. She was elected in November to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2019.
Brown called on legislators to work together to craft a package of cuts, public employee pension reform, and tax increases to fix the state’s reoccurring budget deficit, which amounts to $1.7 billion in the upcoming biennium.
Voters added to that deficit in November when they passed ballot measures mandating new spending on education programs but defeated Measure 97, a proposed gross receipts tax on large corporations.
In her speech, Brown attributed the deficit to the cost of expanding health care to all Oregonians, the cost of the new education ballot measures, and the rising cost of paying public employee retirement benefits.
“The budget I have proposed is balanced. It does account for the entire shortfall. But it is only a short-term solution,” Brown said.
“For longer than I have served in government, Oregon has faced a revenue shortfall, a little less painful in good times, catastrophic in bad times. We have cut and we have squeezed. Our roads, our public safety, and our schools have paid the price.”
On the issue of pension reform, Brown said she is looking for creative ways to reduce costs and to ensure that employees don’t take advantage of the system.
“My office is working to identify what we can do now, such as bringing investment services in-house, to responsibly carry out our duty to retirees,” she said.
The Oregon State Legislature passed pension reform in 2013, but the State Supreme Court threw out key cost-saving parts of the reform bill in 2015.
Brown pledged to spend tax dollars wisely and look for ways to improve government efficiency. She said she is appointing a panel to make recommendations on how state government can operate more efficiently, with proposals ready for the 2018 legislative session.
She also urged lawmakers to look for opportunities to raise tax revenue. Her proposed budget includes tax hikes on tobacco and liquor and ends a variety of tax credits and loopholes.
Those proposals would raise about $900 million in ongoing revenue, according to the Statesman Journal.
“We will work with all of you to restore fairness and balance to our tax system,” Brown said. “We need solutions that don’t unfairly burden working families struggling to make ends meet.”
New and most returning members of the state legislature are also being sworn in Monday. Democrats control both chambers of the Oregon Legislature, making Oregon one of just four states with a Democratic governor and Democratic majority in the legislature.
Copyright 2017 Oregon Public Broadcasting