Last modified: Monday, December 1, 2008 10:04 AM PST Kulongoski to announce 2009-2011 budget proposals SALEM (AP) — Oregon’s discretionary budget pie for the next biennium is worth about $16.1 billion, and later today Oregonians will get a better idea of who gets a slice and who gets sliced. Gov. Ted Kulongoski will announce his proposed state budget for the coming two years. The amount is $1 billion more than the current two-year budget, but more than $1 billion less than he expected to have available before the economic trainwreck. Priorities will include alternative energy, education, transportation and children’s health The Legislature will draw up and approve the final budget. But what Kulongoski says today will set the tone for the next session, which opens Jan. 12. The governor has kept details of his budget quiet. But The Oregonian has pieced together the broad outlines of his priorities, hurdles and options. Priorities: Education: The governor has said he wants no retreat from the gains made during the 2007 session in funding for public schools, colleges and universities, including a big increase in financial aid for college students. Renewable and alternative energy: This is a legacy-building theme for Kulongoski, who sees green technology as the doorway to a robust economic future for Oregon. There likely will be new incentives to attract solar, wind and biofuel companies to the state and for cars that rely more heavily on electricity. Transportation: Kulongoski already has outlined a $1 billion plan to boost spending on bridges, highways, railways and mass transit to reduce congestion and put people to work on construction projects. Controversial elements include a proposed 2-cent hike in gas taxes, a 21⁄2-cent tobacco tax increase and a shift in some lottery profits to transportation projects. Children’s health care: Backed by a stronger Democratic majority in the Legislature, Kulongoski once again wants money to cover Oregon’s 100,000 kids under 19 who lack insurance. Voters rejected a tobacco tax increase to help fund it. this time Kulongoski wants to tax hospitals $700 million over the next two years. However his budget is based on the most recent revenue forecast and some say the numbers could drop by another $1 billion as the legislative session progresses, which would cause a restacking of priorities. The proposed budget is about 7 percent bigger than the current two-year plan, not enough to cover much higher increases in caseloads, health care costs, negotiated salary increases and other pressures. He has not yet spelled out how Oregon will pay the estimated $157 million in costs that will be run up by Measure 57, which requires longer prison sentences for property crimes and more drug and alcohol treatment for offenders. The governor can expect opposition from hospitals, tobacco companies, truckers and industrial energy users. Some educators may think his budget comes up short for schools. With Democratic supermajorities in both houses, this is the year to boost taxes if the governor wants to do it, and states could benefit from proposed federal stimulus payments. Last session, lawmakers suspended corporate ‘‘kicker’’ rebates and put the money into a savings account. That and a separate savings account for public schools are projected to have about $900 million over the next two years. The governor has said he doesn’t want to tap those unless he has to. Agencies not on the governor’s priority list could see sharp cuts. ——— Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com