Governor Kate Brown wrapped up a two-day visit to southern Oregon with a presentation at a Rotary Club luncheon in Medford on Wednesday. She discussed what she’d like to see come out of the current legislative session.
The governor ticked off items she said were budget priorities for her. Education, housing, health care and transportation were high on her list. She said she expected a transportation bill with funding for roads, bridges and transit to make it out of the legislature this session.
“I feel good about -- cautiously optimistic maybe is a better word – that we can move forward on a bipartisan, bicameral package that will invest in our transportation infrastructure, that will insure that products can get to market efficiently and that we can put people back to work,” she said.
The last transportation bill died in the 2015 legislative session after the Republican minority refused to support it unless the state’s Clean Fuels law was repealed. The bill ultimately failed when attempts to craft a compromise fell through.
Lawmakers this session are facing a projected shortfall of $1.6 billion and budget writers are warning of potentially deep cuts to health care and education.