By Gia Vang

EUGENE, Ore. -- Governor Ted Kulongoski is on his way out of office. But before he leaves, he's leaving a sort of to-do list for his successor, and it involves restructuring the entire state government system.

At a Eugene City Club meeting Friday, he admitted the road to change will be a tough one.

He calls it the great recession. Kulongoski said because of it, the state is needs to restructure the entire government system if it wants to remain sustainable.

"To do nothing, to maintain the status quo is not a choice this time," he said.

Kulongoski told members that it starts with reforming the so-called "kicker" law.

He said "The kicker is the most confusing part of Oregon that many think that we do."

The kicker is a rebate given to taxpayers when there is a revenue surplus, but Kulongoski would rather that money be put into a rainy day fund. When that's the case, then the state can focus on the three key issues, beginning with education.

He wants the governor to be able to appoint a state superintendent of public instruction, instead of it being a political race.  Kulongoski also wants to put emphasis on measuring outcomes.

"I can't keep writing checks without there being performance measures, so I can see that you're meeting the standards that the state sets," Kulongoski said.

Secondly, there's public safety, specifically corrections. Kulongoski wants lawmakers to commit to invest in drug and alcohol treatment programs.

"This is not about being soft, it's about being smart," he said.

Finally, he says the state needs to drive down labor cost, a big reason it's $3 billion in the red right now.

Kulongoski knows it won't happen overnight.

"If you make the tough choices this next year, you will avoid that compounding effect or you will minimize it," he said.

The governor thinks this could take up to two bienniums to get going and has received some criticism for his reset plan because he's on his way out of office.  But he says simply, times have changed.