Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski delivered his sixth State of the State address Friday in Portland. The Governor outlined plans to pour more money into education, transportation, and health care.

Kulongoski says he’ll renew his efforts to pass a hike in the tobacco tax.

Voters defeated a ballot measure last year that would have raised the tobacco tax to fund children’s health care.

Ted Kulongoski:  “If the tobacco companies think that the 12 billion dollars they spent to defend the bargain basement price on their product here in Oregon, which happens to hook kids and destroy lives, brought them a permanent victory in this battle, they are sadly mistaken.”

Kulongoski also called for an increase in the minimum tax rate that corporations pay.  A similar proposal failed in the Legislature last year.

The Governor says the money raised would be put in the state’s new rainy day fund.