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Oregon News
TRANSPORTATION
After delays and missteps, Oregon Democrats pass road-funding bill
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
Exactly one month after they convened to pass a road funding bill, Oregon Democrats finally crossed the finish line Monday.
The state Senate passed a package of tax and fee increases proposed by Gov. Tina Kotek by an 18-11 party-line vote — the bare minimum support to pass a tax increase.
That result relied on the presence of state Sen. Chris Gorsek, a Gresham Democrat who had been unable to make it to the Capitol throughout September. Gorsek was hospitalized last month with complications following a recent surgery. He was pushed into the Senate chamber in a wheelchair to vote Monday, but left the room during lengthy debates over the proposal.
The passage of Kotek’s funding package, House Bill 3991, offers a lifeline to hundreds of employees at the Oregon Department of Transportation threatened with layoffs if the agency didn’t get around $300 million more in the current budget.
But the bill may still have hurdles ahead.
Republicans have said they will work to get tax increases in the bill referred to voters in the November 2026 election. That would require opponents to collect around 78,000 signatures over the next three months, a pricey endeavor that GOP lawmakers suggested Monday would be worth the cost.
“We stand squarely with Oregon taxpayers. The majority does not,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, told reporters. “If this gets referred to the ballot, it’ll be on the same ballot that every Democrat that voted for it is going to be on. They’ll have to defend this indefensible act.”
A successful referral campaign would suspend new taxes until a vote is held next year, throwing the fate of ODOT services back into uncertainty. Along with layoffs, the agency has warned it will need to dramatically scale back services like road plowing without more money, making winter roads less safe.
For the time being, Democrats are celebrating the bill’s passage.
Republicans have insisted that they don’t want to see the cuts being considered at ODOT. But the party has maintained that there is plenty of money being spent on extraneous purposes that can be rerouted to roads. The GOP has frequently likened the state’s budget to a cash-strapped household trying to prioritize saving for its basic needs.
“When we have a tight constricted budget, we do things that are more important first rather than the things that are less important,” said Starr.
Republican senators argued Monday that their largely rural constituencies — who drive longer distances for basic amenities and often earn less money than people in urban areas — would be disproportionately impacted when filling up the tank and renewing their vehicle’s registration becomes more expensive.
“We’re talking about people who are existing on minimum wage,” said state Sen. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook. “I've got one family who right now is collecting pop cans so that they can get a pair of shoes from Goodwill for their daughter to go to the homecoming dance … What is that going to do to those people?”
Republicans again attempted to put forward a proposal Monday that could have steered hundreds of millions of dollars from public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, electric vehicle subsidies and more in order to fund roads. In a separate motion, the party tried to get Democrats to agree to refer the bill to voters. Both attempts failed along party lines.
Key to HB 3991’s passage was Sen. Mark Meek, the Gladstone Democrat whose opposition to the earlier bill appeared to single-handedly doom its chances. Meek supported HB 3991, he said, because of its smaller price tag and because the bill removed language in the existing statute that could lead to tolls on highways in his district.
“I certainly would never, ever support a transportation package that kept the possibility of tolling in my community alive,” Meek said Monday of tolling on Interstate 205 in particular. “Never.”
Kotek’s office and Republicans say that the possibility of tolling is still alive in statute, contrary to Meek’s remarks.
While the battle over Kotek’s bill has been protracted, it is likely not the last Oregonians will hear about transportation funding. Advocacy groups, local governments and others say that the money from HB 3991 is not enough to sustain the state’s transportation system long term.
Oregon Senate passes $4.3 billion transportation package
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
The bill settles a growing gap in Oregon’s transportation budget and prevents transportation department layoffs, but advocates warn it’s just a temporary fix and overlooks key issues such as climate sustainability, traffic congestion and road safety near schools — all while Republicans pledge to bring the matter before voters in 2026.
Within the first 25 minutes of floor debate, Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, attempted to block the bill from moving forward by offering two amendments, one of which would have freed up existing funds within the Oregon Department of Transportation budget and allowed the agency to direct it to immediate needs. Starr’s other amendment would have given Oregon voters the final say on whether to approve or reject the bill in the November 2026 general election. Both motions failed.
During a press conference after those motions failed, Starr said Republicans don’t want roads to deteriorate or for transportation employees to lose their jobs. He criticized Kotek and Democrats for not collaborating on a bipartisan transportation solution and said Republicans will work to create a referendum, or allow Oregon voters to reject or approve the legislation in the November 2026 election.
Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, said many of his constituents can’t afford the tax and fee hikes in the transportation bill.
“It’s going to hurt my rural Oregonians more because they have lower income levels and have to drive farther for goods and services than anywhere else, and they’re not driving a fuel-efficient vehicle to do so,” he said at the conference.
Oregon Democrats expressed support for the bill, with some calling it a good start and others saying it’s insufficient.
Kotek in an afternoon press conference surrounded by supporters of the bill said she suspended 483 pending transportation department layoffs that would have taken effect Oct. 15 as soon as the bill passed the Senate, adding that the department is already behind on hiring for the winter season.
“We’re going to move forward with the assumption we have this,” she said, responding to Republican plans to challenge the measure through a referendum. “What I would say to folks is think twice about referring this. Let’s all come together as a state and make sure we have the right tools.”
While some Republicans said their voices weren’t heard in this bill, Kotek said the state needed a viable solution to filling the transportation department’s funding shortfall.
“There are a lot of people standing behind me who represent folks across the state who are registered Democrats, Republicans and independents,” Kotek said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we saw something that was viable from Republicans. And as a result, they were not able to support (the bill).”
Kotek said she doesn’t know when the bill will reach her desk so she can sign it into law.
“In the 2026 short session, we need to fix issues like the Road Usage Charge and EV taxes, along with new accountability and revenue tools,” said Kristopher Fortin Grijalva, the transportation program director at Oregon Environmental Council. “By 2027, we aim to deliver a truly fair, safety-forward, climate-smart transportation package that serves everyone in Oregon.”
Oregon Democrats pass long-awaited transportation tax hikes after months of missteps
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Top Democrats have been adamant this year that addressing the state transportation agency’s funding woes requires raising taxes. That’s because the agency has reported for years that its primary revenue streams for highway maintenance — DMV fees, the state’s gas tax and fees on truckers — have not kept pace with inflation or have leveled off as fuel-efficient cars become more prevalent.
Because Democrats hold exact supermajorities in both chambers, the number of lawmakers required to raise revenue, they hold the power to pass tax hikes with no Republican support.
But getting a tax-raising transportation package across the finish line this year proved to be a near-Herculean task. Although the transportation committee embarked on a statewide tour last year and hosted an extensive engagement process with interested parties prior to the session, Democrats failed during the regular session to secure enough support for any of a series of funding proposals.
As a result, the proposal that passed the Senate on Monday is significantly less ambitious and contains lower tax increases than Democrats had initially hoped to pass. To amass enough support from their own party — and to get enough Republicans simply to show up to the special session to hold a vote — Democrats made a series of concessions and lowered or omitted most of the proposed tax hikes.
“(This) is not a transportation package. This is a budget fix,” said Sen. Khanh Pham, a Portland Democrat. She said the plan is “a sorely needed Band-Aid to provide desperately needed resources to ensure that we keep state employees working to maintain our roads and bridges and avert the disaster of sentencing a foundational state agency to mass layoffs, managerial chaos and fiscal insolvency.”
Most Republicans have rallied hard against the tax hikes. To solve ODOT’s funding gap, they proposed cutting state funding for services they viewed as non-essential, such as public transit and bike-friendly infrastructure, and directing that money toward road maintenance.
“Tina Kotek isn’t done raiding your pocketbook yet. She’ll be back for more, and my guess it’s going to happen sooner than later.” said Sen. Daniel Bonham, a Republican from The Dalles. “A solution without raising taxes exists. It’s realistic, it’s viable and it’s absolutely being ignored.”
Democrats have pushed back on the suggestion that dollars for other programs can be easily redirected to road maintenance, arguing that those other funding pools are far too small to help ODOT and cities and counties maintain those services. They also have said shifting funding for certain services would result in the loss of matching federal dollars.
All Senate Republicans present on Wednesday voted against the proposal, saying it would harm Oregon businesses and residents by increasing their tax burden. They also said they were unwilling to give more money to the Oregon Department of Transportation without more closely scrutinizing its current spending.
Republicans attempted Monday to add a provision that would have referred the proposed tax hikes to voters next year, but Democrats blocked that move.
Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr of Dundee suggested that an effort to refer the tax hikes to next year’s ballot could be successful, but gave few specifics. Doing so would require collecting a high threshold of 78,000 signatures, and it’s unclear what groups, if any, would financially back any effort to gather those signatures.
Oregon Senate passes long-delayed stopgap transportation funding bill
KGW | By Anthony Macuk, Evan Watson
Republicans have consistently opposed the tax hikes and called for ODOT's budget gap to be closed by reallocating existing funding such as the current transit payroll tax and the Vehicle Privilege Tax that funds Connect Oregon and the Zero Emission Incentive fund. Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr introduced a floor amendment to change HB 3991 to that effect on Monday, but it was voted down.
"Democrats proved today they neither trust the people of Oregon nor care about the affordability crisis families are living through," Starr said in a statement after the bill passed the Senate. "Oregonians are already paying the price for years of Democrat control—at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in their housing costs, and more. Today, Democrats made it worse. Voters should remember this day and who stood with them."
The suggested alternative funding sources were non-starters for Democrats, and when asked on Monday whether elected Republicans were correct to say they didn't have a voice in the negotiations, Kotek replied "we had lots of conversations; at some point you have to have a proposal that is viable, unfortunately I don't think we saw something that was reasonably viable from Republicans."
House Republican Leader Christine Drazan vowed earlier this month that if HB 3991 passed, Republicans would seek to refer the tax provisions to Oregon voters. Republicans on Monday said that's still the plan; Starr also introduced an amendment to have the legislature directly refer HB 3991 to the ballot.
After Starr's second amendment was voted down, Republicans asked for the proceedings to be paused for a caucus meeting, during which Starr and other Republican senators left The chamber and held a press conference where they reiterated their opposition to the bill and their intention to begin gathering voter signatures to refer it to the ballot. The Senate remained in recess for about 40 minutes.
The Senate requires two-thirds of lawmakers to be present to hold votes, and Democrats don't have enough seats hit that threshold on their own. Republicans have staged multiple walkouts in recent years to stall votes on specific legislation, but Starr said during the news conference that they didn't plan a longer walkout to delay HB 3991.
"Oregonians deserve safe roads, but they also deserve a Legislature that listens," he said in a later statement. "We are more determined than ever to give voters a voice in this process. This fight is far from over."
Kotek acknowledged the Republicans' ballot referral plan in her news conference, but said she has directed ODOT to suspend the layoffs and proceed under the assumption that the funding is available, adding that the agency is already behind schedule when it comes to staffing up for the winter.
"I am just taking one day at a time," she said. "We got the bill done today, so I don't have an answer for that. But what I would say to folks is, think twice about referring this. Let's all come together as a state to make sure we have the roads we need."
Oregon Senate passes $4.3B transportation package, averting ODOT layoffs
Statesman Journal | By Anastasia Mason, Dianne Lugo
Senate Republicans tried, and failed, to pass two motions to amend the bills on the floor. In a press conference after the failed motions, Sens. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, and Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, called for voters to have the final say.
“We’re supposed to be a representative democracy,” Bonham said. “I’m curious whether or not people will feel represented after today’s vote. I don’t think they will.”
A group of former Republican lawmakers started a campaign to bring a potential gas tax increase to a referendum during the regular session. Now current Republicans seem poised to take up the task.
Starr said Republicans were ready to put the time and money into collecting the 78,000 signatures needed to put the proposal on the ballot but would not confirm Sept. 29 if they would use their own campaign funds to do so.
Oregon Senate passes transportation bill along party lines
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
The Senate rejected a motion from Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr, of Dundee, to put the bill up for a voter referendum by a vote of 16-11.
Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Gresham, and Hayden were excused from the vote on the referendum.
Following that decision, Senate Republicans called for a recess.
The caucus then held a press conference, denouncing the decision to reject the motion and hinting Republicans will try to force the bill to the ballot in the future.
"What is the governor and the Senate Democrats afraid of? I'll tell you what they're afraid of, they're afraid of Oregonians saying no to this massive tax increase," said Starr. "What the majority and the governor don't realize that it's highly likely that this measure gets in front of the voters anyway."
It will be a tall task to put the bill up for a public vote.
Under the Oregon Constitution, voters and elected officials can force most new laws onto the ballot if they gather enough signatures within 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, unless the bill has an emergency clause.
The Constitution explicitly prohibits attaching an emergency declaration to bills that levy taxes.
To qualify for a voter referendum, those opposing the bill would need to gather signatures from 4% of the total votes cast for governor in the last regular election.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, 1,952,883 people voted in the 2022 gubernatorial election.
That means just over 78,000 valid signatures would be needed to qualify the bill for a referendum.
Oregon Senate passes transportation funding bill during special session vote
KOIN 6 | By Lisa Balick
Republicans were opposed to the package and noted that the delays were necessary because the Democrats need every vote in order to pass this bill.
“We find ourselves stuck in a never-ending special session because the Governor refused to build consensus and insisted on ramming through a tax hike that working Oregonians are pleading for us to stop,” Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr (R-Dundee) said in a statement released after the second delay on September 16.
Now that it’s passed, Oregon Republicans are looking to put together a ballot measure for 2026 to have the public decide if they want this package to stay or go.
ODOT funding bill with gas tax, fee hikes passes Oregon Senate on party-line vote; officials react
KTVZ | By Claire Elmer
While supporters say the cost falling on Oregon taxpayers is not an ideal solution, the price of not fixing roads is far higher. Opponents argued the Legislature should look for other solutions before asking Oregonians to pay more, especially when many are struggling to make ends meet.
Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr (R - Dundee), released a statement following the vote, saying democrats forced through the tax hike with no regard for struggling families and small businesses.
Though Oregon Republican officials continue to voice their strong opposition, democratic lawmakers say the bill provides only the bare minimum for funding.
POLITICS
‘Really scary’: Oregon schools, state agencies face another major increase in pension costs in 2027
The Oregonian | By Ted Sickinger
School districts and state agencies face another major hike in their payments to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System during the two-year budget cycle starting July 1, 2027, according to new projections released last week.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
Texts between Oregon Gov. Kotek and Trump staff provide insight into decision to send troops
KGW | By Jamie Parfitt
Text messages from Oregon Governor Tina Kotek obtained by KGW provide some insight into why President Donald Trump appeared to back away from a decision to send troops into Portland over the weekend, before ultimately following through.
Judge sets Friday hearing on blocking National Guard deployment to Portland
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
The request for temporary restraining order blocking troop deployment is part of a broader lawsuit against the Trump administration over its federalizing of Oregon National Guard troops.
At least 166 Oregon National Guard members have volunteered for Trump deployment
OPB | By Tony Schick, Troy Brynelson, Conrad Wilson
The Oregon National Guard said it has begun the process of mobilizing guard members with law enforcement experience to comply with President Donald Trump’s deployment order for 200 troops in Portland, but it could be next week before there are actual boots on the ground.
Federal government probes Oregon in faith-based push against LGBTQ+ foster policy
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
The Trump administration on Tuesday opened an investigation into a contested Oregon policy of requiring prospective adoptive and foster parents to affirm their child’s gender identity, spelling uncertainty for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for the state.
Oregon’s Attorney General Pushes Back on Federal Targeting of Sex-Ed Programs
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed a multistate lawsuit Friday against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seeking to preempt recent threats to pull funding from sex-ed programs over mentions of “radical gender ideology.”
ECONOMY
One of Portland’s oldest cider houses is closing next month
The Oregonian | By Veronica Nocera
The tap has run dry at one of Portland’s oldest cider houses.
The decision to close the Pearl District taproom after 10 years as a fixture of the city’s craft beverage scene was not an easy one, according to a news release announcing the closure.
“Like many small businesses, we have faced unprecedented challenges over the past few years,” the release reads, “from COVID restrictions, multiple break-ins, and incidents of vandalism, to dramatically rising operating costs and a significant decline in tourism and downtown foot traffic that has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.”
Portland, too, has “struggled to regain its vibrancy” and “overcome the barrage of negative national media coverage and public perceptions of safety,” according to the release.
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