PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime  – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Now that the election is over – make sure someone tells Donald Trump – lawmakers in Oregon are planning to trek to Salem for their long legislative session, which lasts essentially from January through June.

In this blog, I repeat a summary of four major questions legislators should ask as they consider any aspect of the State of Oregon budget or any proposed new piece of legislation.  The four questions usually go unasked or unanswered, so I repeat them here.

First, however, this context for the coming legislative session.

Democrats are in charge everywhere in Salem – in the House, in the Senate, in the Governor’s Office and in all other statewide offices.

In the House and the Senate, they enjoy super-majority margins of control, which means they can pass new taxes without any Republican votes.  They do not enjoy what have come to be called “quorum-proof” margins of control, which means Republicans can walk out if they view no other alternative to oppose legislation they believe imperils rural Oregon.

In other words, the “two-Oregons” issue – urban versus rural and the reverse – is alive and well in our state.

Against this backdrop, Governor Kate Brown released her “Recommended Budget for 2021-23,” on December 1, which will set the stage for months of to’ing and fro’ing over how to spend taxpayer dollars.  At the moment, she has pinned her budget on receipt of more federal anti-virus money, which is under consideration in Congress with no optimism about whether a bill will pass or not.

As is the case with start of any legislative session, I believe the time is right to emphasize again questions legislators should ask:

1.  What is the problem for which a proposed policy or action is deemed to be the solution?  This question is seldom raised or discussed.

2.  Is there an appropriate role for government to play?  The answer, if the question is even raised, is rarely no.

3.  If there is a role for government, what does the state expect to get for the money it is spending — in other words, what is the expected return on investment?  This is an usually a foreign concept.

4.  How will state government action affect the private sector, especially individual and corporate taxpayers on whom the state depends for money to fund its operations?  This is seldom discussed, unless raised by those lobbying for Oregon businesses or for individual taxpayers.

If legislators would ask and answer these questions with a constructively critical eye, we’d have a better legislature and better results.