The prospect of this does not sound appealing to me.

The Salem Statesman-Journal's Steve Law writes today that it looks like the Oregon Legislature might not get its act together and will instead bog down in silly partisan disputes (yes, we've heard this before. Law explains:

If news coverage of the 2005 Legislature sounds a bit familiar in the coming months, there will be a good reason.

The meatiest issues before lawmakers next year are the same ones they have agonized about many times before.

A daunting budget shortfall. Unstable school funding. Gut-wrenching human service cuts. Elusive proposals to raise more money or rein in state spending.

Split control of the 2005 Legislature could make finding solutions to long-running problems even tougher.

Democrats will control the new Senate by an 18-12 margin. In the House, Republicans will have a 32-27 advantage.

The Senate will be controlled by Democrats hailing from large cities, metropolitan suburbs and college towns. The House will be dominated by conservative Republicans from small towns and the countryside.

Proposals from the two chambers will reflect their differing constituents, mirroring the blue vs. red divisions found across the country.

Of course there are real problems making the task of the Legislature more difficult.

Economists say taxes and other state revenues won't rise enough to cover population growth and inflation for the 2005-07 budget cycle. That means the state could be up to $1 billion shy of what's needed to pay for current state programs, public schools and colleges.

One difference this time: Senate Democrats and Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski say they will block the use of one-time money and borrowing that Republicans have supported in recent years.

"We have got to do a responsible method of balancing the budget; no gimmicks, no bonding," said Sen. Kate Brown, D-Portland.

So where exactly will the money come from, then? The Democrats, understandably, want to raise some new tax revenue, some of it coming from a cigarette tax, some coming from a corporate minimum tax (that state business leaders agreed to).

The only problem is the obstructionist Republicans in the House seem to be willing to go to any length to bankrupt the state government (this is no different from what President Bush is trying to do to the federal government). The House GOP seems to libe in a fantasy world in which it doesn't matter that they and their allies destroyed Oregon's schools--which were once among the finest in the nation--in addition to many other services (including the police departments and prisons).

I certainly hope that Kulongoski and the Dems get their act together and don't let the ridiculously conservative members of the House derail the state.