Remember the old arcade game called "Whac-A-Mole"? It was a big square machine with lots of holes and these plastic moles would pop up. To win the game you had to take a black mallet and whack as many moles as possible as fast as you could.  This year's session has felt a lot like that. Seems like everywhere you turn another issue pops up that could potentially lead to problems for one group of Oregonians or another and we have tried to push back with a voice of reason.

Don't get me wrong, there have been a few good "moles" popping up, but a lot more are the bad kind of legislative vermin. Below you'll see a sample of the measures I've been dealing with in a couple of my committees.  If you want to see some of the 2600 measures being considered so far this session check out the new Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS). See the links in the banner to the left.

I am serving on three legislative committees. As a small business owner I was pleased to be assigned to the House Business and Labor Committee. As a strong advocate for government accountability and transparency, I welcomed the assignment to serve on the House Consumer Protection and Government Efficiency Committee. As an advocate for individual freedom I am pleased to be a citizen watchdog on the House Land Use Committee this session.

In 2011 and 2012 there was a spirit of cooperation when the House was tied with a 30-30 Republican-Democrat split in members. This session tells a different story with the Democrat majority in both the House and Senate.

For example, when it comes to the new state budget, the latest revenue forecast indicates we will have an additional $1.5 billion in tax revenue (a 10 % increase) coming in to pay for critical services like public safety, education, and social services. Apparently, that isn't  enough. The Democrat leaders in charge of the budget committee called for $275 million in new taxes to pay for even more programs. Meanwhile, House Republicans put together a draft budget without tax hikes that still provides 25% more money for schools than the current budget. The legislative budget committee is holding hearings around the state this month. Click here to learn more.

While Oregon's economy continues to crawl out of the recent recession we should not be imposing an additional tax burden on our families and the businesses which provide much needed jobs. Yes, we need to continue to look for ways to make state government more cost efficient and effective. However, one of the biggest expenses to state and local agencies continues to be Tier 1 of the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). On the upside I will say this session has generated more discussion about reforms to PERS than in the past decade. On the downside the package of modifications headed to the Governor's desk for his approval doesn't go far enough.

I have heard from public employees and others on all sides of the PERS debate. In the end I am hopeful the legislature can reach a compromise that is fair to the workers and taxpayers. One that will provide meaningful reform instead of kicking the political can down the road, putting off the skyrocketing PERS payments into the future for our grandchildren to pay.

As we keep working over the next few months on budgets, taxes and many other important issues facing our state, I look forward to hearing your views. 
                               Sincerely,