Last-ditch effort to fund Oregon Department of Transportation fails
A last-ditch effort on the final day of Oregon's 2025 Legislature to prevent job cuts and service reductions for the Oregon Department of Transportation failed.
House Bill 3402 was amended in the House Committee for Rules but did not receive the required votes to suspend the rules and move it to a final reading and vote on the House floor. Despite having until June 29 to conclude the session, the Senate and House moved forward with adopting sine die resolutions and bringing the 83rd legislative assembly to an end.
The placeholder bill would have raised the gas tax to 43 cents per gallon and increased registration and title fees to raise an estimated $2 billion over 10 years. Without it, Gov. Tina Kotek said she would have to begin the process of ordering 600-700 layoffs at ODOT starting on June 30.
Lawmakers presented the stopgap solution just hours earlier when it became clear the passage of House Bill 2025, an $11.7 billion transportation funding package, did not have the votes needed to pass.
HB 2025 required a three-fifths majority for passage because of tax increases. Democrats currently hold that exact majority in each chamber, but some expressed opposition. The bill was not heard on the floor of the House of Representatives after being re-referred to the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment on June 23.
Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said if Democrats are "ready to get real," Republicans would discuss funding options.
House Republican Leader, Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said in a press conference following adjournment, that during the amendment's public hearing on June 27, she "did not hear from a single Oregonian that was not going to be a recipient of that tax. I was stunned by that."
Bonham and Drazan both cited "failed leadership" as a contributor to the failure.
'Obviously the result of the transportation package was disappointing, but I'm really proud that my Democratic colleagues stuck together and we fought for our communities until the very end,' said House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene.
Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, said that unlike previous transportation packages focused on projects, lawmakers were focused on preservation and maintenance.
"It is really hard to have conversations about paradigm shift," Wagner said.
The amendment to HB 3402, which had previously been a placeholder, was uploaded at 11:17 a.m. June 29.
Lawmakers scheduled ahearing for 3:45 p.m., but the House Committee on Rules did not convene until 6:05 p.m. with Gov. Tina Kotek testifying.
Lawmakers voted 4-3, along party lines, to send the amended House Bill 3402 to the House floor.
Reps. Ben Bowman, D-Tigard, Hải Phạm, D-Hillsboro, Jason Kropf, D-Bend, Andrea Valderrama, D-Portland, voted in favor and Reps. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany, and Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, voted against.
'I would say that getting to this amendment was potentially faster than it should have been and tonight was potentially slower than it should have been,' said Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby.
Rep. Andrea Valderrama, D-Portland, sympathized with people concerned about cuts to safety improvements, but said she would support the bill to avoid causing larger budget problems for ODOT.
Bowman, chair of the House Committee on Rules, said he was "extremely frustrated" and "really upset that this bill (House Bill 2025) is dead."
"My 'yes' vote tonight is because a 'no' vote is a vote not to pay for paving, not to pay for fogline striping, not to pay for filling potholes, not to pay for snowplowing," Bowman said. "We have to protect these services. This is our choice, a 'yes' or a 'no.' Protect hundreds of jobs and provide basic safety measures, or vote 'no' and don't fund those basic safety measures.
The House of Representatives convened just after 8:30 p.m.
Many people waited hours to testify online or in person to share their thoughts on the newest transportation proposal.
While they waited more than two hours for the committee to begin, Democrats were caucusing and having dinner without providing updates on the schedule.
'I've been struck, actually, by how many people are still hanging on here. They've been here since 3:45. And I think that is a testament to the opposition to the dash 3 amendments, which the League of Oregon Cities shares,' said Jim McCauley, legislative director for the League of Oregon Cities.
McCauley joined other city and county representatives in calling for the revenue split of 50% to ODOT, 30% to counties and 20% to cities included in House Bill 2025 to be restored.
Garlynn Woodsong, executive director of PLACE Initiative, said lawmakers who sign an amended House Bill 3402 should 'just resign now,' so as not to 'face the wrath of Oregonians.'
Woodsong called on lawmakers to either pass the most recent version of House Bill 2025 or convene in a special session.
The committee concluded public testimony, which was limited to two minutes per speaker, at about 7:45 p.m.
Al Pollock, general manager of Cherriots bus service in Salem, Keizer and the Mid-Valley, testified against the amendment to HB 3402 on behalf of the Oregon Transit Association.
The association is worried that if the stopgap bill is passed, lawmakers' support for transportation improvements will lose momentum, Pollock said
"My ask of you would be to defer action on this bill during this session in order to have a conversation on a solution that addresses the needs of all transportation voices, either in the special session or the 2026 session," he said.
Phil Chang, a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission, which functions like a board of directors for ODOT, submitted written testimony against the amendments to House Bill 3402 proposed by Democrats and Republicans.
Chang did not mention his affiliation with the OTC, identifying himself as a Deschutes County Commissioner. Chang was appointed to the OTC by Gov. Tina Kotek in 2024.
Neither amendment provides the funding local governments need, Chang said. "Please go back to working on a comprehensive package like what is found in HB 2025," he wrote.
Chang was in the queue to testify virtually, but the committee moved to the next person due to technical issues.
House Republicans sent out a press release following Kotek's testimony to the House Committee on Rules, celebrating the defeat of House Bill 2025, which had been a major priority for Democrats.
'Forcing families to pay one of the largest tax hikes in history when they can barely get by was a cruel policy from the start,' said House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby.
'While our work represents a major victory for working-class, low income, and rural communities, House Republicans will continue to listen to and fight on behalf of Oregonians against any future taxes that raise the cost of living," Drazan said in the statement. "We welcome House Democrats to join us.'
Gov. Tina Kotek all but confirmed the fate of House Bill 2025, telling the committee: "I know it is disappointing when you get to this point in the session and such a big bill with so much work is not going to move forward.'
She called the amendment to HB 3402 "a Band-Aid in every sense of the word."
If the amended placeholder bill is not passed, Kotek said, between 600 to 700 ODOT employees will have to be laid off beginning July 1.
The amendment would increase the gas tax by 3 cents per gallon, from the current 40-cent-per-gallon and increase the standard vehicle registration fee from $43 to $64. House Bill 2025 would have increased that fee to $75. Title fees for a standard vehicle would go up to $168 from $77. House Bill 2025 would have increased the standard title fee to $312.
A revenue estimate predicts the amendment would raise $2 billion over the next 10 years, with all the money going to ODOT.
The amendment, which would take effect 91 days after the session ends, could prevent cuts to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Lawmakers passed a budget for ODOT on June 27 that assumed revenue increases from HB 2025.
ODOT Director Kris Strickler submitted written testimony June 27 in support of the amendment to House Bill 3402, calling it an "interim step." The bill would not address structural revenue problems, Strickler said, but would provide the department enough funding to keep its current service levels for the 2025 to 2027 budget cycle that begins July 1.
As of 10 p.m., 225 people had submitted written testimony, with 220 in opposition and two neutral. The only support came from Gov. Tina Kotek, ODOT and a single constituent.
Tara Wilkinson, director of The Intertwine Alliance, said in written testimony: "This bill would be a disaster for our state and for all of our communities. It's an outrage."
"It is a betrayal that deepens injustice and harms those who need support the most," Joel Iboa of the Oregon Just Transition Association said in a statement to the Statesman Journal.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson issued a statement against the amendment, saying it "threatens to sideline local authority and transit priorities at a time when collaboration is most needed."
Another proposed amendment by House Republican leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, includes language to ensure that light and heavy vehicles pay their fair share.
A placeholder funding bill was scheduled for a work session in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means for Transportation Reinvestment before being removed from the agenda on June 27.
The likelihood of House Bill 2025 succeeding in the Senate seems uncertain.
Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, walked off the floor June 26 and shared on Facebook that he would be voting against the bill. Meek was removed from the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment June 23. He said his removal was because he spoke against the bill.
Senate Republicans said in a press release on June 27 that they were unanimously opposed to House Bill 2025 and would not support it. That would mean every Senate Democrat, including Meek, would have to vote in favor of the bill for it to pass.
Lawmakers have long said passing a new transportation package would be a priority for the 2025 session. The Joint Committee on Transportation held workgroups with stakeholders and toured the state to assess transportation needs.
But the bill faced a series of delays, culminating in a scramble in the last days of the session. Legislators must finish this year's session by sine die, June 29 at midnight.
Sen. President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, told reporters in February he believed a framework could be available by Valentine's Day. That week, the Statesman Journal published a three-part investigation on the results of legislation passed in 2017 to fund ODOT and major projects.
The bill was not introduced until June 9 and revenue estimates were not available until after days of public testimony.
An amended version of the bill was sent to the House floor on June 23, then returned to committee for more revisions because it lacked support.
An updated version was approved June 26 with all committee members voting along party lines, with the exception of Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, voting in favor.
Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Stop-gap transportation funding bill fails in final hours of session
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