March 16, 2019 | The Oregonian | by Mike Rogoway
Longer school years? Smaller classes? More counselors, science and music classes?
Those are some of the ideas kicking around Salem as lawmakers contemplate how to spend a proposed $2 billion business tax hike for schools. The money could be a welcome boost for Oregon educators, parents and kids, who have endured nearly 20 years of schools funding well below the national average.
March 13, 2019 | Tax Foundation | by Garrett Watson, Nicole Kaeding
Last Thursday, Oregon’s Legislative Revenue Office (LRO) presented model results illustrating the impact of a proposed Business Activity Tax, a value-added tax, on Oregon’s economy. This allows us to compare the effect of this proposal against the Commercial Activities Tax, a proposed tax on gross receipts. These tax proposals are part of a broader effort to raise revenue and improve Oregon’s public education system.
March 11, 2019 | Tax Foundation | by Garrett Watson, Nicole Kaeding
This week, Oregon’s Legislative Revenue Office (LRO) provided economic projections to the Joint Committee on Student Success Subcommittee on Revenue to assess the impact of a proposed gross receipts tax on Oregon’s economy. The committee is interested in raising about $1 billion in annual revenue from a new source to improve the state’s public education system. This is the third time Oregon has considered a gross receipts tax in the past five years, after a legislative proposal failed in 2017 and a ballot initiative to enact a gross receipts tax was rejected by voters in 2016.
March 2, 2019 | Bend Bulletin | by Editorial Board
Gov. Kate Brown wants to give schools an additional $2 billion, but, as things now stand, she and lawmakers must find a new pot of money to fund her dream.
February 20, 2019 | The Oregonin | by Ted Sickinger
Gov. Kate Brown is considering selling the state’s workers compensation insurance corporation or tapping its substantial capital surplus to hold down future pension costs for school districts around the state, according to documents obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive under a public records request.
February 19, 2019 | Bend Bulletin | by Editorial Board
New arrivals to Oregon sometimes have a hard time figuring out how state government works.
February 14, 2019 | Bend Bulletin | by Editorial Board
One of Oregon’s leading business organizations, the Oregon Business Council, is poised to go where the Legislature won’t. Members of the council, which includes leadership of some of the state’s largest businesses, are talking seriously about a 2020 ballot measure designed to cut the $27 billion unfunded liability in the state’s Public Employees Retirement System.
January 31, 2019 | The Oregonain | by Ted Sickinger
The number crunchers for Oregon’s public pension system are set to deliver a status check to the system’s board Friday, and the prognosis is not good.
January 31, 2019 | Klamath Falls Herald & News | by Al King, Klamath Falls Community College Board
It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road. Oregon’s Public Employment Retirement System (PERS) is like a runaway train and soon, it’s going to hit Klamath Community College head on.
I am a longtime member of the KCC board of education, but I did not write this editorial on behalf of the board or the college. As a community member, I have seen KCC grow to become one of our community’s greatest assets. My concern is the financial disaster that awaits its future.
January 29, 2019 | Corvallis Gazette Times | by Mike McInally
It seems as if the Oregon Legislature may be following the lead of Gov. Kate Brown in dealing with the problems associated with the state’s public pension system.
In her recent inaugural speech, Brown outlined a list of ambitious goals for the legislative session that started a week ago. One of the issues that didn’t get much attention in the speech was the state of Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System, which faces an unfunded liability now estimated at around $26 billion.
