Oregon Business Plan Summit concentrates on education, healthcare and economic initiatives - Upd Dec 07, 2004

On Monday, over 1000 leaders from around the state met to learn about progress on the Oregon Business Plan. Developed in 2002, the plan proposes policies and initiatives to move the economy forward. The latest summit, the third, reviewed progress to date and rallied support for upcoming initiatives.

Speakers included Governor Kulongoski and US Senators Wyden and Smith. Wyden is Chair of the Oregon Business Plan Leadership Committee. All three leaders and Oregon Speaker of the House Karen Minnis expressed overwhelming support for the plan.

A reoccurring theme of 'transparency' in government processes and budgets was expressed throughout the day. Many websites have recently been created or enhanced by state agencies to allow the public greater access to information.

Governor Kulongoski gave what was arguably the most impassioned speech of the summit, including a call to overhaul Oregon's educational infrastructure. He spoke of the need to combine the funding and control of the K-12, community college, and university systems in Oregon.

Background

The Oregon Business Plan is a vision for the economy for the next 10 years. The plan is managed by the Oregon Business Plan Steering Committee, which includes local businessperson Brett Wilcox of Northwest Aluminum.

The plan identifies twelve high-priority initiatives:

· Stabilize our public finance system
· Expand Oregon's capacity for innovation
· Refocus economic development
· Keep building a world-class k-12 education system
· Invest differently in post-secondary education
· Get more benefit from our forest resources
· Maintain our roads and bridges
· Strengthen our trade infrastructure
· Update our land use laws
· Streamline permitting across jurisdictions
· Brand and market Oregon more aggressively

Progress & Outlook

Summit speakers outlined a broad mix of accomplishments over the last year and plans for 2005, including:

• Oregon has provided major funding and support for the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) at the University of Oregon. In June 2004, Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith secured U.S. Senate approval for $10 million in defense-related projects for ONAMI.
• Several transportation related tasks are proceeding, including the I-5 Columbia River Crossing, as well as the Newberg-Dundee Bypass, the Sunrise Corridor, and I-205.
• In June 2004, Northwest Airlines began daily nonstop service to Tokyo, Japan. In 2003, Lufthansa initiated daily nonstop service to Frankfurt, Germany and Mexicana initiated three times a week service to Guadalajara, Mexico.
• HB 3446 reauthorized $27.7 million in lottery-backed bonds for the Columbia River channel deepening. All federal and state environmental approvals for the Columbia River channel deepening have been obtained.
• In May 2004, the Governor announced the first 11 industrial sites certified as "project ready."
• The Governor announced the creation of a new website -- OregonProspector.com -- that allows business officials to search for land in Oregon by city, county, property type, and size, as well as whether or not the site is certified as project-ready.
• The Governor's Economic Revitalization Team has established an Advisory Committee on Regulatory Permitting to streamline the permitting process and increase economic opportunity in the state.
• On July 9, 2004 the Office of Regulatory Streamlining presented its first annual report to the Governor. During the last year, the report indicated that state agencies completed nearly 100 projects ranging from online submittal of ODOT payments to elimination of redundant business examinations -- all making it easier to conduct business in the state. Over 200 additional streamlining projects are underway or planned for the next 12 months.
• The Brand Oregon and "My Oregon Story" websites have both been launched.
• Business organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief to the Oregon Supreme Court urging it to uphold PERS reforms.
• Governor Kulongoski appointed an Advisory Committee on Government Performance and Accountability to review management practices, streamline regulations, and evaluate status of the performance measurement process. Performance reports for all state agencies are available here.
• The Governor and Legislature realigned the mission of the Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) to strengthen business retention, expansion, and recruitment. OECDD was allocated $10 million "strategic reserve" fund to work with industry and has identified ten industry clusters to focus their work.
• The Governor announced the creation of the new Office of Rural Policy.
• Five Oregon foundations have formed the Chalkboard Project to work with Oregonians to achieve a shared understanding and progress relative to improved K-12 public education in Oregon.
• Governor Kulongoski in November 2004 set out a bold agenda to invest in post-secondary education in support of access and economic growth, and appointed a new Board for the Oregon University System in support of this agenda. This sets the stage for major rethinking of priorities and budgets.

For more information on the plan, visit www.oregonbusinessplan.org.

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