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Dear Central Oregonians,
I am excited to begin my new term as your State Senator for Senate District 27. I cannot thank you enough for your support and I hope that we can continue working together to make Central Oregon even better. Before session, I wanted to give you an update on what is happening at the Capitol and some of the issues we will face in the next few months. |
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Every session has its surprises and the upcoming session will be no different. The session is not even underway, and already we are hearing about a “budget crisis”(even with record revenue) and the possibility of a special session to fix it. The Democratic leadership is proposing new taxes and fees that will impact every Oregon family. Proposals similar to the failed Measure 97 are being drawn up along with numerous others that raise fees or create new ones that will hurt small businesses. At the root of the problem is State Government’s inability to be responsible, efficient, and fair with taxpayers’ money. We can change that.
Public Employee Retirement System
One of the biggest systemic issues for Oregon’s government is the Public Employee Retirement System. Currently, Oregon’s unfunded status for the system is $22 billion. In reality, it is probably higher than the official number because the market isn’t returning 7.5% growth in the pension system. Through working together in a bi-partisan way with Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) we found there are legal, effective solutions to solve some of the problem. Now it's a matter of leadership and political courage. The stability of the retirement system itself is threatened when funding it is impossible given the economic impact of the alternatives, this puts the retirement of everyone in the system at risk which is unacceptable.
Schools
Democrats are focusing yet again on sinking money into the Oregon Health Authority and human services while underfunding education. Setting aside PERS, their budget shortchanging our students and educators with the proposed budget for education. We need to settle on a proper funding package for education in April to give our school districts stability and the ability to plan well for the upcoming biennium. That package must provide enough resources to lower class sizes and increase graduation rates or it won't have my support.
Job Creation
In order to properly increase revenue for the State and Local governments, we should focus on job creation. The Legislature is piling on regulations, restrictions and costs on businesses every year and it is slowing down growth especially in rural areas that rely on using the land and resources to create jobs. I have proposed and will propose numerous bills that focus on cutting red tape on small businesses and entrepreneurs in order to improve our economy and generate growth where it has lagged in recent years. We must focus on creating better family wage jobs with benefits. I call it rebuilding the middle class.
Land Use and Affordable Housing
I have also proposed numerous bills relating to land use with a focus on allowing local governments to have flexibility to create jobs and build affordable housing. Local governments need the ability to make changes to land use plans as the situation requires. Leveraging changes to land use to create jobs and build affordable housing is critical to improving the quality of life for all Oregonians.
Please don’t hesitate to contact my office by phone at 503-986-1727 or by my new email at sen.timknopp@oregonlegislature.gov. I look forward to hearing from you!
Best Regards,
 Senator Tim Knopp
Senate District 27
email: sen.timknopp@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1727
address: 900 Court St NE, S-309, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/knopp
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