The state of Oregon · Budget
What Oregon takes in, and what it holds back
Revenue is $35.7 billion and rising, reserves are near $3.2 billion, and there is no kicker projected for the next biennium.
Figures current as of September 2026 forecast · every number on this page is sourced below
Where Oregon is
Net General Fund revenue, 2025-27
$35.7 billion
Up $55 million on the June 2026 forecast. Revenue is growing, not shrinking.
General Fund net resources, 2025-27
$37.9 billion
Down $55 million on the previous forecast.
Rainy Day Fund
$1.98 billion
Projected to end the biennium at $2.19 billion. It received no transfer from the beginning balance, because the Legislature declined to send one in the 2025 session.
Education Stability Fund
$1.16 billion
Projected to end the biennium at $1.27 billion.
Personal kicker, 2027-29
None projected
The kicker returns revenue to taxpayers when collections beat the forecast by two percent or more. No kicker is projected for the next biennium.
Corporate Activity Tax, 2025-27
$2.98 billion
Down $94.6 million on the June forecast. Projected at $3.42 billion for 2027-29.
Where the money sits, 2025-27
Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, September 2026 forecast. Figures in billions of dollars.
- General Fund net resources$37.9bn
- Net General Fund revenue$35.7bn
- Corporate Activity Tax$2.98bn
- Rainy Day Fund$1.98bn
- Lottery resources$1.9bn
- Education Stability Fund$1.16bn
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| General Fund net resources | 37.9 billion |
| Net General Fund revenue | 35.7 billion |
| Corporate Activity Tax | 2.98 billion |
| Rainy Day Fund | 1.98 billion |
| Lottery resources | 1.9 billion |
| Education Stability Fund | 1.16 billion |
In her own words
Oregon does not have a money problem. We have a priority problem. We can bring balance back to our budget without raising taxes.
Rep. Elmer · Lucetta for Oregon, Issues
$35.7bn
Net General Fund revenue, 2025-27, and rising
What it adds up to
Here is the number that frames everything else. Oregon's net General Fund revenue for this biennium is $35.7 billion, and the September forecast put it up, not down. Whatever else is true about the state's finances, the money coming in is not falling.
The reserves tell a smaller and sharper story. The Rainy Day Fund holds $1.98 billion and the Education Stability Fund $1.16 billion, which is a little over $3 billion set aside against a bad year. The Rainy Day Fund got no transfer from the beginning balance this cycle, because the Legislature chose in 2025 not to send one. That was not a shortfall. It was a decision about what came first.
That is the whole of Rep. Elmer's argument, and it is worth being precise about it. She is not saying Oregon is poor. She is saying that a state taking in $35.7 billion and declining to top up its reserve is making choices, and that choices can be examined. A household does the same arithmetic when money is tight: not where do I find more, but what comes first.
There is no personal kicker projected for 2027-29. For taxpayers who have come to expect one, that is the forecast saying collections are running close to what was predicted. It cuts both ways. It means the state is not over-collecting, and it means there is no refund coming to soften the next two years.
What the state holds back against a bad year.
The Rainy Day Fund and the Education Stability Fund together, set against the revenue they are held against. The Rainy Day Fund received no transfer this cycle, because the Legislature declined to send one.
$3.14bn
Held in reserve
$35.7bn
Net General Fund revenue, 2025-27
Reserves are 8.8 percent of the revenue they are held against.
The honest objection
A volatile forecast cuts both ways, and this is the part the argument usually leaves out. If a swing proves there was never a crisis, the same volatility makes it harder to claim the state can plan reliably around a lower revenue base. Reprioritizing inside a fixed budget also means naming the programs that lose, out loud, and that is the sentence most people making this argument never finish. Reserves are not free either: money in the Rainy Day Fund is money not spent on something real this year.
What reprioritising buys
- No new taxes on households already absorbing higher costs
- Reserves topped up against the next downturn
- A budget that states what comes first, out loud
What it costs
- Some programmes lose, and the argument has to name them
- A volatile forecast undercuts planning in both directions
- Money in the Rainy Day Fund is money not spent on something real this year
What would change the conclusion
If Oregon reprioritized without raising taxes and services measurably got worse for the people who depend on them, the priority argument would have been wrong. The test is outcomes for Oregonians, not the size of the reserve.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these. Check them. If a number here is wrong, that is worth knowing and worth telling us.
The other reports
The state of Oregon · Economy
What it costs to do business in Oregon
Oregon ranks 35th on tax competitiveness and 42nd for business, and the decline is traceable to specific decisions rather than to bad luck.
The state of Oregon · Education
What Oregon spends on schools, and what it gets
Graduation rates are at a record high and reading and math scores sit below the national average. Both are true, and the gap between them is the story.
The state of Oregon · Agriculture
What Oregon grows, and who grows it
Nursery and greenhouse stock is Oregon's largest commodity, most of it sold out of state, and a great deal of it grown within an hour of McMinnville.