Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon lawmakers are on pace this week to finish their month-long special session -- maybe even a few days early.

Still on the to-do list? Patching the holes in the current budget. The Oregon Senate took a major step toward that goal Monday. Chris Lehman reports.

Oregon isn't facing a huge budget gap at the moment -- just over $100 million. But that gap grew this month as lawmakers learned of higher than expected demand for human services and college tuition assistance.

One strategy to offset the budget hole is to curb a tax credit for renewable energy projects.

Lawmakers expect the state to reap a $55 million savings by curtailing the Business Energy Tax Credit, better known by the acronym BETC.

Democratic Senator Ginny Burdick says the credit was more generous than lawmakers intended.

Ginny Burdick: "We knew that something had to be done quickly to reduce the impact of the BETC on the general fund during this current budget crisis."

Legislative leaders say the spending tweaks they expect to pass will leave the budget balanced -- but precariously. 

It's vulnerable to additional downturns over the remaining 16 months of the budget cycle.