Personal kicker reform remains Stalled

Oregon's unique kicker law has vexed many a politician because it's kind of wacky: If actual revenue exceeds projections by 2 percent or more, the entire surplus goes back to taxpayers. Some people dislike this because it doesn't allow for Oregon to build robust reserves for lean times. Other people think this is just fine, as it's a built-in mechanism to curb spending.

Readers with good memories may recall that voters approved a ballot measure to divert the corporate kicker in 2012, but the kicker is more than just corporate. In his 2010 Economic Plan, Kitzhaber promised to readust the way the kicker works, so some of the money could be diverted to a rainy day fund before rebating taxpayers.

That includes the personal kicker -- and it's that part that hasn't changed, with a little more than a year left in the term. In fact, the chances of changing the Constitution to allow for this change are pretty slim, given that he'd have to coax the Legislature into putting the issue before voters.

We continue to rate the promise Stalled.