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Article: Put Measure 57 on hold.(Editorials)(With huge defecit, state can't afford sentencing law)(Editorial)
- Article from:
- The Register Guard (Eugene, OR)
- Article date:
- May 23, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 The Register Guard. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: The Register-Guard
The Oregon Legislature made a tough but necessary call in putting Measure 57 on last November's ballot. Now it should delay the sentencing law until the state emerges from its budgetary black hole.
Storm clouds were gathering on the state's economic horizon last year when lawmakers decided to refer the tough-on-crime initiative to voters. But even the most pessimistic lawmakers didn't have a clue that the state would end up facing a $3.8 billion shortfall.
Even then, lawmakers weren't enthusiastic about the prospect of increasing spending on corrections with a measure that increased prison sentences for nonviolent, ...