Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul De Muniz says if the two tax measures on this month's ballot are defeated, the Oregon court system will suffer.

De Muniz didn't explicitly endorse the measures during an address Friday to the Salem City Club. But he said courts have already scaled back after previous budget reductions, and the cuts that could result if these measures go down would have an immediate impact.

Paul De Muniz:  "If we are required to further reduce the budget, we regrettably will be forced to limit public access to the courts. Even a five percent reduction, when combined with these previous cuts, will force us to close courts to the public at least one day a week."

The $730 million raised by the tax hikes aren't earmarked for specific programs. But Legislative leaders say they'd have to make cuts to core state services such as education, public safety and human services.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Revenue is asking taxpayers to wait until after this month's election to file their returns.

That's because some tax bills will change as a result of the measures.