Governor Kitzhaber Releases 2015-17 Opportunity and Investment Balanced Budget

Press Release

Governor Kitzhaber today released his 2015-17 balanced budget, focused on investing in children and families, creating good jobs, and building statewide prosperity. Over the past two budget cycles, the state has reduced the cost of medical care by focusing on the health of patients, not the procedures preformed; Oregon has eliminated the need to build new prisons by improving the safety of our communities; and taken steps to reduce the long-term costs of our public pension system. These reforms have created an opportunity to invest in our children, communities and rural economies.

Education accounts for 50 percent of the budget's General Fund with $9.4 billion going to schools, community colleges, and universities. This budget fulfills the commitment to free, full-day kindergarten for every Oregon child, a crucial investment in the goal that all children read at grade level by 3rd grade.

"Today, because Oregonian's worked together, our state is on track to eliminate the state's structural deficit by 2021," said Governor Kitzhaber. "And by the 2021-23 biennium, Oregon will have attained-- for the first time -- a budget surplus. This allows us to use strategic investments to align state resources with the goal that by 2025 every Oregon student has a diploma and the skills they need to find a rewarding job, ensuring that prosperity reaches every corner of the state."

The 2015-17 budget demonstrates our commitment to reduce poverty; create opportunities for people to transition off public assistance into living wage jobs; and support their families.

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