Oregon Senate Republicans lay out their agenda

As the Oregon Legislature got down to work Monday, Senate Republicans released an ambitious agenda for the 2015 session that they said is “focused on creating family-wage jobs for all Oregonians” and putting more money into schools.

“The agenda highlights three key priorities: creating jobs in struggling communities, increasing economic security for working families, and expanding educational opportunity,” they said in a news release that continues below, in full.

Senate Republicans pledged to stop “job-killing tax increases” while providing incentives for economic growth across the state.

“The American Dream is not to make minimum wage,” said Deputy Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend). “Our first priority has to be creating living-wage jobs that will support Oregon families. Only then will we have a stable tax base that adequately funds education and an economic environment where Oregon families and small businesses can thrive.”

Recognizing that Oregon families still feel the pressure of the recent economic downturn, Senate Republicans promised to aggressively advocate for women and working families still struggling to make ends meet by creating an Oregon Child Tax Credit, helping small businesses afford paid sick leave for their employees, and establishing tax-free savings accounts.

Senate Republicans also presented a plan for expanding educational opportunities by dedicating additional tax revenue from recent economic growth to the education budget.

Senate Republicans would allocate over $1 billion more to K-12 education than Democrat leaders. They said funding will be directed toward locally targeted strategic investment for innovative programs that reduce absenteeism, expand career planning and education intervention, and increase funding for career, technical and STEM programs.

“It’s time we equipped our hard-working teachers with the tools they need to ensure success for every child,” said Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena). “Creating a Teacher Classroom Supplies Tax Credit to support teachers who sacrifice part of their own paychecks to buy supplies for their students would put our tax dollars directly back into the classroom.”

In a legislative preview with The Associated Press last week, Senate Democrats promised not to “play fast and loose with (Oregon’s) pocketbook” while simultaneously proposing a slew of new tax increases that disproportionately harm working Oregon families and small businesses.

Senate Republicans cautioned against runaway “tax-and-spend” policies that abuse the recent revenue gains from continued economic recovery.

“We hope the tsunami of Democrat-proposed tax increases are not an indication of a runaway tax-and-spend approach for Democrats this session,” explained Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day).

“If they are serious about creating family wage jobs, we are eager to work with them to protect and grow small businesses and provide Oregon students with educational opportunities that will help them find living-wage jobs,” Ferrioli said.

2015 Senate Republican Agenda
Jobs, Economic Security & Education

Family-Wage Jobs for Struggling Communities
Senate Republicans will work to revitalize Oregon’s high-poverty, high-unemployment communities by creating
job training opportunities and incentivizing new family wage jobs.
Empower areas struggling with high poverty or unemployment by developing Job Creation Zones with tax incentives and streamlined permitting for small businesses.
Grow Rural Oregon by allowing counties with declining populations to expedite land use decisions for new and expanding businesses.
Increase funding for Career, Technical, and STEM Programs, helping youth and long-term unemployed develop the skills for high wage jobs.
Provide Tax Relief for Small Businesses by protecting and expanding the historic 2% tax cut to maintain a level playing field for all small businesses in Oregon.
Senate Republicans will work with moderate Democrats and House Republicans to Stop Job-Killing Tax Increases that hurt working families and small businesses.

Economic Security for Working Families
Senate Republicans will aggressively combat serious problems like the gender pay gap and increasing child care costs, to improve economic security for women and working families.
Enhance enforcement of existing Pay Equity requirements.
Expand the Child Tax Credit, supported by President Obama, to help working families pay for childcare.
Develop new tax credits to help small businesses offer Paid Family and Sick Leave to their employees.
Create Tax Free Savings Accounts to enable more families across Oregon to save to buy a home, start a business, or ensure a secure retirement.

Expand Educational Opportunity
Senate Republicans will partner with parents and local schools to address achievement gaps by targeting classroom investments, reducing absenteeism, and supporting teachers.
Use 90% of higher revenue for an $8 billion K-12 Education Budget that will increase funding for ELL instruction, special education, and career training.
Reduce Absenteeism by tying school funding to actual daily attendance, increasing educational opportunity for disadvantaged students.
Fund Locally Targeted Strategic Investment for innovation and support programs, such as family coordinators, career planning and education intervention.
Prioritize state bonding capacity to Retrofit Unsafe Schools.
Improve Educator Support by streamlining teacher evaluations into a single rubric that consistently measures professional practice and effectiveness.
Create a Teacher Classroom Supplies Tax Credit to support dedicated teachers and channel funding directly to the classroom to help kids learn.