After 227 days of the longest legislative session in Oregon's history, I am headed home. There is no doubt this was a trying session, but we resolved many problems.

Throughout the session, my constituents expressed concern about the lack of funding for human services, public safety, and most notably, schools. Others worried about taxes. The press applied intense scrutiny to the budget battles, including the PERS reforms, the school funding debate, and the public hearings on tax reform.

Deep, ideological rifts divided members of the House and Senate on the budget issues. Solutions would be reached after weeks of negotiation, only to dissolve overnight, spurring further negotiations. Well-publicized partisan gridlock defined these budget battles up until the last two weeks, when a negotiated compromise with the moderate Republicans broke the logjam.

But, as often occurs in politics, this legislative session, despite its length and divisive tone, quietly accomplished much.

The public employee's retirement system (PERS) was out of balance. We passed five bills that brought the system back into line, guaranteeing that public employees will still get a fair pension that we can pay for. There were some problems (I voted against one bill over some constitutional questions) but the overall solution saved the state from financial catastrophe. After we work off the unavoidable debt, the PERS system will have costs in line with other corporate and government payment systems.

We will fix Oregon's bridges. In January, Oregon faced a $4 billion to $6 billion backlog in bridge repair and replacement. 60% of Oregon's economy moves on heavy trucks which rely on these bridges. We passed a $2.5 billion plan to repair or replace some of the most damaged bridges. Local governments will also receive funds to repair local roads, and people in all corners of the state, including Central Lane and Linn Counties, now have access to the jobs that transportation construction generates.

As a member of the House Revenue Committee, I helped broker a compromise on a bill to promote tourism in Oregon without cutting off local governments from an important source of revenue. Statewide and local businesses will be the winners.

Finally, this Legislature balanced the budget through a bi-partisan temporary tax plan. The $1.2 billion in revenue that this bill will bring in ensures bare-bones funding for schools, public safety, and human services. The three-year income surtax generates $544.6 million in this biennium. People earning the average income in Central Linn and Lane County will see their taxes go up by only a modest $4 or less a month to support our kids, seniors and disabled individuals, and a five-day-a-week court system. While not ideal, this budget averts disaster.

Despite these accomplishments, much work remains. This legislature did not accomplish true tax reform. We still do not have enough money for our schools, and human services. Our job-creation efforts are still too small and disorganized. We left many smaller items for future sessions, such as upkeep for tracks on which passenger rail runs, and some cost-saving measures such as my bill to promote open-source software in state agencies.

This will be my last Legislative Report for a while. I plan to continue writing about state and district concerns, but not as often (and after a short vacation). Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve you and our beautiful state.