Kicker Could Go To Fighting Oregon Wildfires

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said recently she'd consider using part of the kicker refund on wildfire suppression and mitigation.  The state’s kicker refund will be nearly $2 billion and Kotek said half of that money could be useful for fire season.

"The only conversation that I'm entertaining, the only conversation that I'm hearing about is to use a portion of that money on a one time basis to fund wildfire suppression and mitigation," Kotek said.  "I think that's the right conversation to be having."

Overriding the kicker would take a two-thirds vote in both chambers.  Concerning the rest of the session, Kotek said legislators need to watch their spending.

"My message is, send me good budgets, I would like to sign them.  But, don't send me things we don't need, and people need to be more thrifty in their asks, or maybe they should just not ask, and let's focus on the priorities of the state."

Kotek said her priorities are housing, education, and substance use treatment.

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