Jenny Smith

It's Wednesday. Happy Leap Day! The Oregonian and Register Guard editorial boards have once again call for the Oregon House to pass the foreclosure bills that have already passed in the Senate.

Today, Occupy groups around the country will take part in rallies and marches protesting corporate influence in politics. The idea for the F29 protests started with Occupy Portland.

Legislature

EDITORIAL: How could they quit on Oregon homeowners?
Oregonian
"There's still time if legislators are willing to help people keep their homes. If lawmakers leave Salem having turned their backs on the Oregon families struggling to avoid foreclosure, this session will be a failure no matter what else they do. Foreclosure reform is that important. One in four Oregon homes is underwater, meaning that owners owe more than their homes are worth. One in four. Nearly 40,000 Oregon homes are in foreclosure or delinquent. And yet the word out of the Legislature on Tuesday was that foreclosure reform -- the best chance for many of these families to save their homes -- was dead."

EDITORIAL: Rescue foreclosure bills
Register Guard
"Oregon legislators are on the brink of adjourning without acting to address the worst crisis in many of their constituents’ lives, a crisis that is also degrading neighborhoods and dragging down the state’s economy. The crisis is the wave of foreclosures — 54,000 in Oregon since 2008 — that is forcing people from their homes and acting as a drag on real estate values. Lawmakers are understandably eager to go home, but before they do, they should provide some modest help to those who may soon have no home to go to."

Lots of talking, little voting in Legislature
OPB
"The Oregon Legislature is a day away from its own deadline for adjourning, and there's still no agreement on some major pieces of legislation. Lawmakers in the House are working with Gov. John Kitzhaber to find some combination of legislation that all would find acceptable. Caught in the mix are Kitzhaber's two education bills and one of his health care initiatives, along with Republican. Even the budget, which has been mostly finalized, is on hold amid ongoing discussions about building and infrastructure projects."

Rural legislators fear Oregon State Police cuts would hurt public safety in their districts
Associated Press
"Rural legislators are pushing back against a budget-slashing plan to cut detectives from the Oregon State Police in a last-ditch effort to rescue positions they say are critical to public safety in sparsely populated areas. Legislators said Tuesday that they found $6 million from the general fund to stave off half the cuts, but 12 detectives remained on the chopping block, said Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner. An original proposal would have cut 25 positions."

Two Woodburn women become citizen lobbyists for senior's property breaks
Oregonian
"Neither woman had much of a choice when the letters came. Oregon lawmakers had suddenly changed the program that had been keeping them afloat. It was either the possibility of debt or Salem. So Sondra Pickett and Patricia Hyatt chose Salem. Both Woodburn residents had relied on the state's senior property tax deferral program, like thousands of other seniors. Under the agreement, their property taxes were paid by the state until their homes sold or they died. Once that happened, the state would be repaid with interest. As far as they knew, the program would be with them as long as they needed it."

It's Monday! The February legislative session is nearing its end--it could be wrapped up as soon as this Wednesday. That short timeline is putting the pressure on key bills. More details have emerged about the budget compromise, which spares K12 and senior services from further cuts.

On Sunday, the Oregonian published an article comparing legislative contributions between banks and credit unions. Curiously, despite straightforward information in the article showing that banks are outspending credit unions, the headline was the exact opposite.

Legislature

With three days left, lawmakers have full schedules
Oregonian
"The Oregon Legislature's short, month-long session is in its final days – lawmakers are hoping to adjourn by Wednesday – but there are still some big items left to pass before legislators head home. Lawmakers met Saturday for a brief session to keep things moving on time, still proposals to reform the state's education and health care systems are among the bills that have yet to get final floors votes."

Oregon 2012 Legislature starts final week (maybe) with jobs bills still very much in debate
Oregonian
"Jobs. The word is repeated so often in Oregon's Capitol that it's almost a mantra. Yet as the 2012 Legislature draws to a close this week, how to create more jobs has sparked heated disagreements and even stalled work on unrelated proposals. It was good news when Oregon's unemployment rate finally dropped below 9 percent in December. But the state remains higher than the national average; more than 175,000 Oregonians are still looking for work."

Salem 2012: Democrats, GOP offer agendas
KTVZ
"Republicans call their 2012 agenda aggressive -- so aggressive that it had to be split into two parts. The first, "50,000 Jobs in Five Years," explains seven ways to put Oregonians back to work. It calls for tax relief for Oregon families, tax incentives for businesses and putting Oregonians back to work in state forests. The second, "Reform Oregon," lists nine areas they want to reform including health insurance, business taxes and education. "Certainly we are hoping the Republican agenda will pass," Rep. Jason Conger, R-Bend, said as the session began. "We tried to be very specific even though that opens for us a lot of criticism and questions.""

Oregon lawmakers, governor reach budget agreement: An inside look at the numbers
Oregonian
"The biggest surprise of the revised state budget, which got the nod this week from Oregon legislative leaders and Gov. John Kitzhaber, is not what's being cut, but rather what's not. Using a dizzying combination of one-time windfalls, money shifts and a promise of future reductions in the ranks of agency managers, the new, $14.7 billion spending plan leaves K-12 schools and social service programs largely intact. It even leaves a comfortable cushion of reserves, in case the economy tanks again."

Prison spared closure, but other services cut in state budget deal
Statesman Journal
"Human services, including home and community care for seniors and people with disabilities, are affected by spending cuts in a budget-rebalancing plan that awaits legislative approval. Details were released today in a memo from the Legislature’s chief budget writers to the top leaders. Faced with $340 million less than projected in tax collections and lottery proceeds in the original two-year budget, lawmakers have to rebalance the budget by adjournment of the session. The target day is Wednesday."

Oregon budget deal reached, school bills pending
KGW
"Time is running out for Oregon lawmakers to tackle education bills endorsed by Governor John Kitzhaber before the legistlative session ends. The Governor made a public appeal Friday during a news conference in Salem, packed with children, parents and educators. Earlier, key legislative leaders agreed not to close prisons or cut funding for schools, but a compromise budget plan would lay off state police detectives and further tighten the belt on safety-net programs for needy families. The finalized budget outline would not tap reserves or raise taxes. Kitzhaber would sign budget bills if they reached his desk, spokesman Tim Raphael said."

Legislators say senior care cuts avoided
Associated Press
"Budget cuts will not mean a reduction in services for seniors who get publicly funded long-term care, key Oregon legislators said Friday. A budget compromise released this week would reduce state funding for the program, but legislators said they are very confident that another funding source will fill in the gap."

It's a rainy Wednesday. The Oregonian Editorial Board has once again weighed in with strong words against Oregon House GOP leaders' efforts to block foreclosure protections for struggling homeowners, saying "If this Legislature comes up empty on foreclosure reform, it will be one of the great failures of the February session, one that will follow lawmakers wherever they go this election year."

Meanwhile, Bend TV station KTVZ published an article that is literally a word-for-word reprint of the Republican's press release on the foreclosure bills, citing "KTVZ.com news sources."

College students are standing up against rising tuition and declining state support. Tomorrow, OPB's Think Out Loud program will be dedicated to the legislative session: http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/

Foreclosures

EDITORIAL: Dying for help on the House
Oregonian
"The foreclosure legislation that swept through the Senate is replaced by an amended bill that doesn't meet the needs of distressed homeowners. Thousands of Oregonians battling to keep their homes have something in common with the foreclosure reforms tangled in the Legislature: They, too, are seeing their last days tick away in the House. It's frustrating to see foreclosure reform, one of Oregon's greatest public policy needs, wrapped up in politics and amendments, and seemingly going nowhere fast in a Legislature set to expire in a week."

BLOG: When it comes to foreclosure reform, the legislator from Sunriver is clueless and out of touch
BlueOregon
"Unreal. It seems that Rep. Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver) is the guy standing in the way of meaningful reform on foreclosures. As the O's Elliott Njus reports, Whisnant wants to water down a bill that passed through the Senate with broad bipartisan support."

Whisnant works to save foreclosure aid bill
KTVZ
"Rep. Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver) and Rep. Matt Wand (R-Troutdale) briefed House and Senate leaders Monday on an amendment to pending foreclosure legislation that would dedicate funds from the recent bank settlement agreement to provide direct assistance for Oregonians. 'Our amendment to SB 1552 expands homeowner assistance to include counseling and mediation services by using the Oregon Housing and Community Services agency to distribute dedicated funds from the recently announced bank settlement agreement,' said. Whisnant, Co-Chair of the House General Government and Consumer Protection Committee."

Higher education

Oregon college students call for an end to rising tuition, declining state support
Oregonian
"Oregon college students lobbied lawmakers in Salem and rallied on the campuses of Portland State and Eastern Oregon universities Tuesday against the increasingly painful price of a college degree. 'Investing in education is investing in our future,' said Adam Rahmlow, 24,  a junior and PSU student body president, during an afternoon rally on the campus park blocks. 'So why did the Legislature last year hold back money from higher education?' Faced with poor job prospects in a sputtering economy and rising debt, more Oregon students are questioning whether higher education remains a viable option. Two decades ago, they paid a fourth of the cost of their instruction and the state covered the rest. Today, students bear 61 percent of the cost."

It's Wednesday! The Tax Foundation is out with another annual look at tax rankings across the country; as usual, Oregon is about in the middle of the pack, but for corporate taxes and business climate, the state ranks 13th. The East Oregonian editorial board used these figures over the weekend to debunk what they called "the inaccurately spewed political rhetoric that describes Oregon’s business climate as unfriendly."

Oregon's new Corrections official has warned that budget cuts could mean the closures of multiple prisons, but Gov. Kitzhaber and budget writers have dismissed that warning. The Oregonian looks at what legislative bills are dead, and which still have a chance.

EDITORIAL: Welcome business
East Oregonian
"The welcome sign is out in Oregon for business. And that’s certainly true in Eastern Oregon. We believe our region is a good place to open a business. A recent study by the non-partisan Tax Foundation is a strong argument against the inaccurately spewed political rhetoric that describes Oregon’s business climate as unfriendly. Now we’re not being a Pollyanna. There certainly are areas of rules and regulations that could improve our state’s business environment — especially for small businesses. Still, there’s good news for Oregon in the study."

Oregon's 2012 legislature almost at the halfway mark: What bills are dead, which have a chance?
Oregonian
"There comes a time in every legislative session when hearts and flowers are replaced by dead bills and retaliation threats. For Oregon's 2012 Legislature, that turned out to be Valentine's Day. To have a chance of surviving the hyper-fast February session, most bills had to get a first committee vote by the close of business Tuesday. That meant, by 5 p.m., there was a lot of blood on the Capitol floors. Symbolically speaking, of course."

Gene Whisnant rolls with the banks
The Source Weekly
"In the foreclosure game, they call it the “spin cycle.” The name is apt: Just like the spin cycle of a washing machine wrings water out of laundry, the foreclosure spin cycle wrings the last drops of cash out of the hapless borrower who gets caught in it. A homeowner gets trapped in the spin cycle when he’s facing foreclosure and tries to renegotiate his mortgage to avoid it. Even while he’s dealing in good faith and making payments regularly, the bank continues to move ahead with foreclosure – and worst of all, the homeowner doesn’t even know it. By the time the bank gets through spinning him he’s lost thousands of dollars – and the house."

Oregon falls mostly in the middle of the pack for national tax rankings
Oregonian
"When it comes to taxes, personal and corporate, where does Oregon rank nationally? About middlin' according to a new report by the Tax Foundation, which tracks such matters. Oregon's 'tax freedom day' -- the date by which average wage-earners have made enough to pay their tax bills -- falls on April 8, ranking it 23rd earliest among the 50 states. As for overall state and local tax burden, Oregon falls smack dab in the middle at 25th. For obvious reasons, Oregon ranks highest on personal income taxes and lowest on sales taxes. It ranks relatively low for corporate taxes. In overall 'business climate' rankings, Oregon comes in 13th, according to the report."

Oregon budget writers, Gov. John Kitzhaber dismiss suggestion of multiple prison closures
Oregonian
"A memo from Oregon's new prison director suggesting she might have to close 'multiple' prisons, stuff inmates into other nearly full prisons and cut as many as 400 workers is being dismissed as 'alarmist' by a key state budget writer and all but disavowed by Gov. John Kitzhaber. Colette Peters, who recently stepped in for former prison director Max Williams, wrote to corrections staff last week that the latest state budget revision includes an additional $17.2 million cut to her department. 'Our proposal to address the $17.2 million includes multiple prison deactivations,' Peters said in the Feb. 10 memo. She went on to say, 'If the institutions need to be deactivated, 350 to 400 positions would be laid off.'"