Kulo Veto: Rejects Ed Budget, Faces Potential Override by: torridjoe Tue Jun 23, 2009 at 13:30:48 PM PDT

Not unexpected, but one of the first (if not THE first) Kulongsoki vetoes of the 2009 session (which as you may recall features 2/3 majorities in both camera):   Gov. Ted Kulongoski followed through today on his threat to veto the $6 billion public school budget because it claims too much of a state reserve fund. The Democratic governor also vetoed a line item in a related budget that took $200 million from the reserve fund and applied it to the schools budget. The moves set up a showdown with the Democratically controlled legislature, which could try to override the veto this week as it tries to bring an end to the 2009 Legislature. The O goes on to say that a veto is mathematically plausible given the high number of passing votes in both houses--but given the chance to look relevant, the Republicans may seize the moment and try to scuttle the override, and get another crack at the budget apple with the pressure on to pass SOMETHING so they can go home. There's more subtext going on here however, I think. I wish I could hat tip the idea, but now I've forgotten where I saw this concept broached--the issue of the reserves is one with strong implications for the survival of the tax package the Legislature passed earlier in the session. The theory goes that if there are significant reserves--such as the $400 million Kulongoski proposes maintaining--then those monies will become a football in any referral of the corporate/high income tax restructuring to the voters. In other words, why would you vote for a tax when the Leg is sitting on $400 million? It's not a very sophisticated argument obviously, but as we saw in the 2007 session on Measure 61/57, the Democratic leadership tends to run preemptively scared of what might happen to their bills in the hands of the voters. (And we're paying for that trepidation on M57, this session).  Even the $200mil figure is a comeback from the original intent to leave NO reserves vulnerable, so that shows you how scared they are of having it become a bargaining chip. The GOP loves these dumbass kinds of attack, so I have to agree an override is by no means automatic here. It's been an interesting session, for sure...

torridjoe :: Kulo Veto: Rejects Ed Budget, Faces Potential Override

Tags: governor, Ted Kulongoski, Legislature, budget, reserves, Education, veto, (All Tags)

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