Oregon Ag Legislative Update

By Oregonians for Food and Shelter

During the Interim, legislators come to town every quarter for 3-days in what is referred to as “legislative days.” Interim Committees meet for updates on issues and this week we heard the new revenue forecast and the Senate approved the Governor’s recommended appointments to various Boards and Commissions. Among them were three new Commissioners to the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission. Greg Wolley, a Program Coordinator for the City of Portland; Krystyna Wolniakowski, Director of the Western Partnership Office of the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation; and Laura Anderson, owner of Local Ocean Seafood in Newport were confirmed to replace Skip Klarquist, Jon Englund and Dan Edge on the Commission.

The Senate passed a commemorative resolution honoring their former colleague, Bob Kintigh.

Kintigh was a good friend of OFS and an advocate for natural resources. He passed away in March of this year at the age of 90.

Read more about Bob Kintigh from OFRI and the Capital Press.

June Economic and Revenue Forecast – From Rep. Vicki Berger’s 5/23/12 newsletter:

Yesterday the state economist delivered the June Revenue Forecast. Although a variety of indicators suggest economic conditions are improving, those improvements remain slower than what we have experienced in past economic recoveries. Oregon’s current revenue picture is flat and a considerable amount of uncertainty remains before we reach the end of the biennium.

Here are the highlights:
• Oregon personal income was up $0.3 billion (0.1 percent) from the March 2012 forecast.
• Oregon employment was up 3,676 jobs (0.2 percent) from the March 2012 forecast.
• Combined, General Fund and Lottery Fund resources are down $225.4 million from the 2011 close of session estimate. There is a projected $95.1 million ending balance for the remainder of the biennium.
• There is no personal or corporate kicker projected for 2011 or 2013 and economists project a 13.3 percent increase in revenue growth between the 2011-13 and 2013-15 biennia.

For more information, the Revenue Forecast, Executive Summary, can be viewed on line.


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