State experts noted in a document released Wednesday that lawmakers will probably have $350 million additional general fund dollars to spend in the upcoming budget cycle, which is around 1% higher than was previously predicted.
In comparison to the estimated $38.2 billion general budget, that is a very small sum.
To put that in perspective, however, it is sufficiently large to address at least one of the budget issues that lawmakers are likely to debate during this session: preventing and combating wildfires, a requirement for which a state-appointed study group has suggested allocating almost an extra $300 million every two years.
Of course, it’s impossible to predict how politicians will use that money or whether it will actually come to pass. Four more months remain for elected leaders to debate the specifics of the budget. Additionally, the next income prediction, which is scheduled for May, will serve as the foundation for the final 2025–2027 budget.
Additionally, analysts projected that Oregon’s kicker rebate would drop somewhat to a total of $1.726 billion, a about 4% decrease from the $1.792 billion they had projected in December.
There will be updates on this breaking news story.
Sami Edge writes for The Oregonian on politics and higher education. She may be contacted at (503) 260-3430 or [email protected].
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