Proposed budget would hire 100 new state police officers

The Oregon House passed a $327 million budget for the Oregon State Police on Tuesday, enough to add 100 new troopers to patrol the state’s highways over the next two years, but not enough to restore round-the-clock coverage.

The budget goes to the governor.

The vote was 55-2, but Republican after Republican stepped up to complain that the proposal wouldn’t pay for 24-7 coverage of the state’s highways. That would require adding 39 additional troopers, they said, at an estimated cost of $4.1 million.

Democrats have said that the state police-perennial victims of budget cutbacks-can’t be entirely restored in one fell swoop without a new revenue source, and that 100 new troopers is a strong step in the right direction. They’ve also noted that the police force needs time to recruit and train new troopers.

The budget also includes money to hire new forensics workers and officers who will investigate identity theft and drug trafficking cases, as well as $1.1 million to reduce the state’s backlog of DNA samples.

Various attempts to raise dedicated funding for state police are still percolating in the Capitol, including a proposal by Rep. Sal Esquivel (R-Medford) to send an increase in the beer tax to the ballot for a vote, with the money going to state police and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

“A lot of them lack the courage to come forth and do what’s right,” Esquivel said of opposition to his proposal among fellow Republicans. “It’s very difficult for some of them to vote for a tax. But my bill is letting the people determine if they want the tax.”

Esquivel, along with Rep. Fred Girod (R-Stayton), voted against the police budget.

Girod called the budget “inadequate….I’m really kind of cheesed off with this budget. We need to pony up to fund state police.”

Other ideas for a dedicated funding source for state police have fallen by the wayside this session, from Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s proposal for an auto insurance tax to a House Republican proposal to set aside 1 percent of the state’s general fund budget to state troopers.

Along the way, the dispute has turned into grist for the inevitable campaign mill. On Tuesday, Republicans used parliamentary maneuvers to force a floor vote on adding money for the 39 additional troopers.

The measure failed on a party-line vote, but it allowed Republicans to put Democrats on the record as having voted against round-the-clock highway patrols.

As it stands, the budget would bring the number of troopers to 431, up from the current 332 but 30 short of what the agency had before the 2001-03 recession reduced its ranks.

Oregon has the country’s fewest state troopers per capita. The number has fallen by almost exactly half, from 665 in 1979, before voters approved a measure that ended the Oregon State Police’s ability to rely on the gas tax and other revenue in the Highway Fund.

The Oregon State Police Association says low staffing levels mean they have to spend most of their time responding to crashes, instead of stopping aggressive drivers before accidents happen, or searching out the drugs that travel the I-5 corridor.

State police have already launched an aggressive attempt to recruit new troopers. Starting monthly salaries for new recruits range from $3,503 to $3,669, with 12 days of vacation per year.