Democratic state lawmakers unveiled a budget proposal Monday they said will help the state avert a government shutdown.
But the latest proposals made some Republicans question whether their Democratic counterparts want to adjourn this week.
Temporary layoff notices are expected to go to some state workers today, but lawmakers have until midnight on June 30 to adopt a two-year operating budget before some state government functions would shut down.
House Democratic Leader Pat Sullivan said the base budget released Monday by Democrats “merely keeps the lights on for another two years.” Sullivan called it a “backup plan designed to meet the very basic needs of the state and avoid a shutdown.”
In addition, Democrats also released a way to raise revenue Monday by ending some tax exemptions. Sullivan dubbed it the Democrat’s current “Plan A.”
“In every case, the Democrats always seem to be the adults in the room,” said Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, speaker pro tempore of the House. “Democrats don’t want to be seen as the ones responsible for shutting government down.”
Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said the latest move by House Democrats makes her question whether they want to adjourn before the second overtime legislative session expires.
“From my read on this, I don’t think this is what we would call a compromise. … There are some things in here that make me scratch my head,” Rivers said.
Democrats are calling for closing several tax exemptions to raise $356 million in the upcoming two-year budget cycle. Unlike their previous proposals, this time the Democrats didn’t include a capital gains tax on certain high-wealth transactions, which last week appeared to be one of the remaining sticking points. Democratic House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan said a capital gains tax would still be the best option, but said it wasn’t the only option.
“Our requirement in budget negotiations isn’t about a specific tax, it’s about the fact that without some new revenue we cannot repair the damage to crucial programs done during the recession, nor can we craft a sustainable budget that solves the very situation we’re in now,” Sullivan said in a statement.
Among the tax loopholes Democrats would close are the sales tax exemption on bottled water and another tax exemption for oil refineries. Democrats would also limit the current exemption on sales tax for nonresidents, which would raise a projected $49.3 million in the upcoming two-year budget cycle.
“(Washington) is not a (shopping) destination for Oregonians. I mean, that’s the biggest fallacy that Republicans can make, that somehow or other Oregonians make our economy hum. They don’t,” Moeller said.
Republican Rivers said she’s in favor of the idea of examining current tax exemptions.
“I think we need to revisit them, but the 11th hour is not the time to do it,” she said.
“The reality is we have $3.5 billion more dollars … We have the money to do what we need to do,” Rivers said, referring to a positive state revenue forecast released after the session began in January.
Though Democrats were quick to claim their latest budget does not raise taxes, Republicans were critical of the revenue that would be raised from ending the exemptions.
“They use a euphemism to help them pretend these are not tax increases. They say they want to close tax loopholes. But I think the people of Washington see though it and understand these are taxes on things they need in their daily lives,” said Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, in a statement.
Lawmakers also discussed a proposal to suspend a voter-approved initiative that would lower class sizes in grades K-12.
The second special legislative session is set to adjourn Saturday.
