SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek on Wednesday backed off her refusal to allow steeper cuts to public-employee retirement benefits, potentially paving the way out of a stalemate that has stalled budget progress for weeks.
Kotek’s backtrack came in a statement released an hour after Gov. John Kitzhaber unveiled his latest budget proposal and gave legislative leaders a little over 24 hours to get on board. Kotek backed the governor’s proposal to raise $200 million in additional tax revenue and eliminate or reduce one particularly costly method of calculating pension payments for retired government workers.
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