Oregon Revenue Forecast Mostly Flat

Oregon lawmakers got so-so news from the state's economist Tuesday. Revenues are predicted to remain mostly steady over the rest of the budget cycle.

The latest projection of state income tax collections is down slightly since the last forecast. But the drop was offset by a series of budget actions that lawmakers took earlier this year.

State economist Mark McMullen told a legislative panel that Oregon's economic recovery is still on track. It's just slow.

"We're really seeing our improvement in both labor market conditions and income growth and the like continue to be less than what we've become accustomed to in periods of past economic expansion," McMullen said.

An interim legislative budget panel is scheduled to vote on a proposal Wednesday to further shore up the current spending plan. The actions would trim state payroll by $28 million by eliminating about 188 state jobs. Most of the positions are currently vacant.

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network

On the Web:

Latest revenue forecast: http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/OEA/docs/economic/revenue.pdf