PORTLAND—Gov. Ted Kulongoski floated the idea that the Oregon legislature may have to come back into session in 2010 to deal with the state’s budget issues in a panel discussion at the Oregon Leadership summit on Thursday.

“I would talk with the legislature about coming back in sometime in 2010,” Kulongoski said. “This may be first time that the legislature has to look at budget in terms of single years. I think we’re all going to have to look at doing things a little differently than we have in the past.”

The Oregon legislature, whose next scheduled session begins in January, usually meets every other year and would not be scheduled to meet again until 2011. But Kulongoski said that the extra legislative session may be necessary to make sure that the state has enough money in the general fund to keep its priority programs afloat and to get through the next two years without dipping into the rainy day fund.

“The issue with the legislature is on whether you should build the 09-11 budget around reserves; I have said we shouldn’t,” Kulongoski said. “I have said we are going to have to make some tough choices. Now the legislature, I believe, will leave by July 1. But the two revenue forecasts that worry me the most are the ones in September 2009 and December 2009.”

Kulongoski said that by not relying on the state’s current reserves in the budget he proposed last week, the state can make sure it has those funds in case it needs them. Kulongoski also believed that by not relying on the funds, the state could even grow its rainy day reserves if it gets some federal stimulus help.

“If hypothetically, there were $400 million coming back into state budget under fed stimulus, then what we do is put in that money in and take out some of the state dollars in general fund,” Kulongoski said. “It may be smarter to invest those funds in some of programs we are trying to maintain. Or, we can put that money in the rainy day fund so we build it.”