2023 session has BMCC guessing

By Terry Murry on Friday, October 14th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – Institutions like colleges and universities that rely on the state of Oregon for funding are anxiously awaiting the results of the November election. In 2023, the Oregon Legislature will write a new budget for the coming biennium.

“We’re not sure who the governor is going to be,” Blue Mountain Community College President Mark browning said. “With that turnover there will also be most likely a turnover within the agencies including administration and budgeting.”

The change in who governs Oregon isn’t the only one. Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) is retiring, and Tina Kotek quit her speaker of the house position to run for governor. While the governor drafts the budget, the legislature must approve it.

Browning worries that the state could decide to just go with maintaining its current commitments instead of looking for new ones.

“It could cause that in the first year of a governorship to just say we’re going to maintain and stay where we are,” he said. “If that happens, we’re going to lose an opportunity because the global economy is moving at such a pace that you just can’t sit and wait for a year while you figure it out.”