Oregon lawmakers weigh increased oversight of state's embattled transportation department
A powerful committee tasked with creating the Legislature's newest attempt at a transportation investment package faced growing calls Tuesday to hold Oregon's imperiled Department of Transportation accountable for funding future projects and regulations aimed at restoring the state's infrastructure.
Testimony from Oregonians on House Bill 2025, a 102-page piece of legislation that would institute dozens of taxes including a 15-cent raise to the gas tax and higher fees for electric vehicle drivers, lasted for about an hour and a half. It's the latest in a series of proposals Oregon lawmakers have put forth this session to address longstanding concerns over issues like crumbling roads and weakened bridges throughout the state.
Many speakers pressed lawmakers to ensure that they consider vulnerable communities throughout the state and the growing effects of climate change while deciding funding for roads and bridges. Representatives for unions, construction workers, environmental advocacy groups and other transportation industry insiders all came out to push lawmakers to fund key projects involving highway expansions, corridors and equitable development.
But perhaps one of the most significant changes the legislation makes is further oversight over Oregon's heavily scrutinized Department of Transportation. In recent years, the department has been the subject of independent reviews, internal audits and public scrutiny over stretched out project timelines and increasing budget estimates.
This year, the department is facing a budget deficit, and its workers are pushing for further funding. The bill calls for further audits into the Department of Transportation and establishes quarterly reporting requirements regarding the agency's progress on reforms and projects. It also would set up a new committee to check in on the status of infrastructure projects.
'Our priority throughout this conversation has not changed. We want to respect valuable frontline jobs in communities throughout the state,' Courtney Graham, political director for the Service Employees International Union Local 503, which represents more than 70,000 public employees and caregivers, told lawmakers Tuesday. 'Absent a solution this session, more than 1,000 positions at [the department] will be eliminated, including hundreds of our members.'
Graham said delays in project delivery 'have harmed public trust.' She said House Bill 2025 could help alleviate those concerns, but warned that 'past legislatures have made choices like prioritizing major capital projects over core maintenance.'
Other speakers on Tuesday said they would like to see further accountability from the department beyond what lawmakers have proposed so far.
The department's challenges merit 'bold changes,' said Kirsten Adams, director and counsel for policy and public affairs for the Wilsonville-based Associated General Contractors. The joint committee in May reviewed findings from an independent investigative firm that attributed the agency's plight to dated financial software, surging costs, turnover, and 'workflow bottlenecks.'
'We also appreciate the efforts to bring more accountability to ODOT,' Adams said during her testimony. 'However, we think these provisions could have gone farther, particularly in light of the work done this session by the committee on accountability issues and significant feedback received there.'
Lawmakers on the committee did not engage with speakers or ask questions, but they will likely do so in a work session that has not been scheduled yet. There are two more public hearings on the legislation: one on Wednesday regarding transit, rail and bike safety alongside public transit, and another on Thursday involving operations, maintenance and preservation.
The bill would also give Gov. Tina Kotek the authority to choose the director of the department in consultation with the Oregon Transportation Commission, a move Kotek supports. The governor currently appoints five commissioners from different areas of the state who must be confirmed by the Senate. The bill would extend the Senate's mandate to also include a vote on the governor's choice for director.
'At this point I'm not looking at any changes in the agency,' Kotek told reporters Monday. 'But everything that I can have for stronger tools to hold that agency accountable will help me do my job and serve Oregonians better.'
The bill's cost has been a point of contention and uncertainty among lawmakers, raising questions for several in attendance Tuesday who said they were unable to comment in further detail without more official analysis about the bill's fiscal impact. At a Monday informational hearing, two lawmakers on the joint committee – Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, and Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale – agreed the cost to taxpayers would likely generate at least $1 billion in revenue.
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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Trump and GOP target ballots arriving after Election Day that delay counts and feed conspiracy fears
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump and other Republicans have long criticized states that take weeks to count their ballots after Election Day. This year has seen a flurry of activity to address it. Part of Trump's executive order on elections, signed in March but held up by lawsuits, takes aim at one of the main reasons for late vote counts: Many states allow mailed ballots to be counted even if they arrive after Election Day. The U.S. Supreme Court last month said it would consider whether a challenge in Illinois can proceed in a case that is among several Republican-backed lawsuits seeking to impose an Election Day deadline for mail ballots. At least three states — Kansas, North Dakota and Utah — passed legislation this year that eliminated a grace period for receiving mailed ballots, saying they now need to be in by Election Day. Even in California, where weekslong vote counting is a frequent source of frustration and a target of Republican criticism, a bill attempting to speed up the process is moving through the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The ballot deadline section of Trump's wide-ranging executive order relies on an interpretation of federal law that establishes Election Day for federal elections. He argues this means all ballots must be received by that date. 'This is like allowing persons who arrive 3 days after Election Day, perhaps after a winner has been declared, to vote in person at a former voting precinct, which would be absurd,' the executive order states. It follows a pattern for the president, who has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of such ballots even though there is no evidence they are the source of widespread fraud. The issue is tied closely to his complaints about how long it takes to count ballots, his desire for results on election night and his false claims that overnight 'dumps' of vote counts point to a rigged election in 2020, when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. But ballots received after Election Day, in addition to being signed and dated by the voter, must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service indicating they were completed and dropped off on or before the final day of voting. Accepting late-arriving ballots has not been a partisan issue historically. States as different as California and Mississippi allow them, while Colorado and Indiana do not. 'There is nothing unreliable or insecure about a ballot that comes back after Election Day,' said Steve Simon, the chief election official in Minnesota, which has an Election Day deadline. In his executive order, most of which is paused by the courts, Trump directs the attorney general to 'take all necessary action' to enforce federal law against states that include late-arriving ballots in their final counts for federal elections. He also directs the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to condition federal funding on compliance. Republicans in five states have passed legislation since the 2020 election moving the mail ballot deadline to Election Day, according to the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks election legislation. Earlier this year, GOP lawmakers in Kansas ended the state's practice of accepting mail ballots up to three days after Election Day, a change that will take effect for next year's midterms. Problems with mail delivery had prompted Kansas to add the grace period in 2017. Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson, a Republican who chairs the committee that handles election legislation, compared the grace period to giving a football team extra chances to score after the game clock expires. 'We need this uniform end to the election just so that we know that all voters are operating on the same time frame,' he said. California has long been a source of complaints about the amount of time it takes for ballots to be counted and winners declared. 'The rest of the country shouldn't have to wait on California to know the results of the elections,' U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the Committee on House Administration, said during an April hearing. He said California's 'lax election laws' were to blame for the delays. The nation's most populous state has the largest number of registered voters in the country, some 22.9 million, which is roughly equivalent to the number of voters in Florida and Georgia combined. California also has embraced universal mail voting, which means every registered voter automatically receives a ballot in the mail for each election. The deadline for election offices to receive completed ballots is seven days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by then. A survey of some 35,000 Los Angeles County voters during last fall's election found that 40% waited until Election Day to return their ballot. Election officials say the exhaustive process for reviewing and counting mail ballots combined with a large percentage of voters waiting until the last minute makes it impossible for all results to be available on election night. Under state law, election officials in California have 30 days to count ballots, conduct a postelection review and certify the results. Dean Logan, Los Angeles County's chief election official, told Congress in May that his team counted nearly 97% of the 3.8 million ballots cast within a week of Election Day in 2024. Jesse Salinas, president of the state clerks' association, said his staff in Yolo County, near Sacramento, already works 16-hour days, seven days a week before and after an election. Assemblyman Marc Berman introduced legislation that would keep the state's 30-day certification period but require county election officials to finish counting most ballots within 13 days after the election. They would be required to notify the state if they weren't going to meet that deadline and give a reason. 'I don't think that we can stick our heads in the sand and pretend like these conspiracies aren't out there and that this lack of confidence doesn't exist, in particular among Republican voters in California,' said Berman, a Democrat. 'There are certain good government things that we can do to strengthen our election system.' He acknowledged that many counties already meet the 13-day deadline in his bill, which awaits consideration in the Senate. 'My hope is that this will strengthen people's confidence in their election system and their democracy by having some of those benchmarks and just making it very clear for folks when different results will be available,' Berman said.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump and GOP target ballots arriving after Election Day that delay counts and feed conspiracy fears
ATLANTA — President Trump and other Republicans have long criticized states that take weeks to count their ballots after Election Day. This year has seen a flurry of activity to address it. Part of Trump's executive order on elections, signed in March but held up by lawsuits, takes aim at one of the main reasons for late vote counts: Many states allow mailed ballots to be counted even if they arrive after Election Day. The U.S. Supreme Court last month said it would consider whether a challenge in Illinois can proceed in a case that is among several Republican-backed lawsuits seeking to impose an Election Day deadline for mail ballots. At least three states — Kansas, North Dakota and Utah — passed legislation this year that eliminated a grace period for receiving mailed ballots, saying they now need to be in by Election Day. Even in California, where weekslong vote counting is a frequent source of frustration and a target of Republican criticism, a bill attempting to speed up the process is moving through the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The ballot deadline section of Trump's wide-ranging executive order relies on an interpretation of federal law that establishes Election Day for federal elections. He argues this means all ballots must be received by that date. 'This is like allowing persons who arrive 3 days after Election Day, perhaps after a winner has been declared, to vote in person at a former voting precinct, which would be absurd,' the executive order states. It follows a pattern for the president, who has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of such ballots even though there is no evidence they are the source of widespread fraud. The issue is tied closely to his complaints about how long it takes to count ballots, his desire for results on election night and his false claims that overnight 'dumps' of vote counts point to a rigged election in 2020, when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. But ballots received after Election Day, in addition to being signed and dated by the voter, must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service indicating they were completed and dropped off on or before the final day of voting. Accepting late-arriving ballots has not been a partisan issue historically. States as different as California and Mississippi allow them, while Colorado and Indiana do not. 'There is nothing unreliable or insecure about a ballot that comes back after Election Day,' said Steve Simon, the chief election official in Minnesota, which has an Election Day deadline. In his executive order, most of which is paused by the courts, Trump directs the attorney general to 'take all necessary action' to enforce federal law against states that include late-arriving ballots in their final counts for federal elections. He also directs the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to condition federal funding on compliance. Republicans in five states have passed legislation since the 2020 election moving the mail ballot deadline to Election Day, according to the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks election legislation. Earlier this year, GOP lawmakers in Kansas ended the state's practice of accepting mail ballots up to three days after Election Day, a change that will take effect for next year's midterms. Problems with mail delivery had prompted Kansas to add the grace period in 2017. Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson, a Republican who chairs the committee that handles election legislation, compared the grace period to giving a football team extra chances to score after the game clock expires. 'We need this uniform end to the election just so that we know that all voters are operating on the same time frame,' he said. California has long been a source of complaints about the amount of time it takes for ballots to be counted and winners declared. 'The rest of the country shouldn't have to wait on California to know the results of the elections,' U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the Committee on House Administration, said during an April hearing. He said California's 'lax election laws' were to blame for the delays. The nation's most populous state has the largest number of registered voters in the country, some 22.9 million, which is roughly equivalent to the number of voters in Florida and Georgia combined. California also has embraced universal mail voting, which means every registered voter automatically receives a ballot in the mail for each election. The deadline for election offices to receive completed ballots is seven days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by then. A survey of some 35,000 Los Angeles County voters during last fall's election found that 40% waited until Election Day to return their ballot. Election officials say the exhaustive process for reviewing and counting mail ballots combined with a large percentage of voters waiting until the last minute makes it impossible for all results to be available on election night. Under state law, election officials in California have 30 days to count ballots, conduct a postelection review and certify the results. Dean Logan, Los Angeles County's chief election official, told Congress in May that his team counted nearly 97% of the 3.8 million ballots cast within a week of Election Day in 2024. Jesse Salinas, president of the state clerks' association, said his staff in Yolo County, near Sacramento, already works 16-hour days, seven days a week before and after an election. Assemblyman Marc Berman introduced legislation that would keep the state's 30-day certification period but require county election officials to finish counting most ballots within 13 days after the election. They would be required to notify the state if they weren't going to meet that deadline and give a reason. 'I don't think that we can stick our heads in the sand and pretend like these conspiracies aren't out there and that this lack of confidence doesn't exist, in particular among Republican voters in California,' said Berman, a Democrat. 'There are certain good government things that we can do to strengthen our election system.' He acknowledged that many counties already meet the 13-day deadline in his bill, which awaits consideration in the Senate. 'My hope is that this will strengthen people's confidence in their election system and their democracy by having some of those benchmarks and just making it very clear for folks when different results will be available,' Berman said. Cassidy writes for the Associated Press. Associated Press writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Some communities won't fly new state flag: ‘It's not a greater Minnesota flag'
MINNEAPOLIS - Old Glory is the only flag flying outside Detroit Lakes City Hall. You won't see the Minnesota state flag - the retired one or the new one that a number of communities refuse to hoist on flagpoles. Minnesota's new state flag was divisive from the start, especially in deep red, rural areas. The flag redesign process sparked intense Republican-led opposition as the DFL-controlled Legislature formed a commission in 2023 to replace the old flag. Some counties passed resolutions rejecting the new design before it was adopted last year. Now some cities are voting against flying it. "I think part of it is people think the new flag is ugly," said Detroit Lakes Mayor Matt Brenk. "Some people think the old flag was racist. I mean, there's all sorts of reasons that people are picking a side on this deal." Detroit Lakes is the latest city to oppose flying the new state flag in north-central Minnesota, where you're more likely to see the old banner on front porches, farms and lakefront properties. "We were on the lake this weekend and noticed a lot of the old flags and a few new ones," said Pequot Lakes Mayor Tyler Gardner. "They typically wouldn't have had a state flag before. It used to just be the American flag." Pequot Lakes is still flying the retired state flag and doesn't plan on raising the new one, Gardner said. "It drives us nuts that there's a divisive argument over a flag, that, let's be honest, it's a state flag. Does anybody really look at them that much?" Crosslake is also supporting the old state flag. In May, the council unanimously voted not to fly the new one. The cities are in Becker and Crow Wing counties, which also don't fly the new state flag. Only state buildings are required to fly the state flag. It's optional at city- and county-owned buildings: Some fly the old flag, many raised the new one, and some never flew the state flag. Julie Ring, executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, said in an email that she was unaware that any counties had taken action against the new state flag. The League of Minnesota Cities said it doesn't track flag activity, nor is it a topic on which it provides guidance or opinions. The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office shares flag etiquette, but it wouldn't weigh in on the cities and counties refusing to fly the new flag. Crow Wing County was the first to pass a resolution against the flag design, followed by Nobles, Houston and McLeod. The cost associated with replacing flags was cited as a concern. Even if a county opts out of supporting the official state flag, it is required in every courtroom. The 87 county courthouses are funded and overseen by the state as part of the judicial district court system. Kyle Christopherson, state court spokesman, said judicial districts worked with each county separately to determine payments for flag and seal replacements in courtrooms. Some counties fronted the bill while most were paid for by the state. The Ninth Judicial District, made up of 17 counties in northwest Minnesota, for example, paid for flag and seal replacements in all counties except Aitkin and Crow Wing. County Administrator Deborah Erickson said Crow Wing spent $10,000 to replace the state seals and nine flags in the courthouse. She sees the new state flag flying outside the Brainerd fire station on her drive to work. The county decided not to hoist the new flag at its veterans memorial, where the retired flag previously flew. Many jurisdictions didn't switch over to the new flag for practical, not political, reasons. In Dodge County, officials decided to use up their remaining stock of old flags. "It's just until the current supplies run out, then we would make the conversion," said County Administrator Jim Elmquist. The average outdoor flag lasts up to 90 days, depending on weather. A few old flags are still flying, but Elmquist said they will be replaced by fall. Faribault passed a resolution in February 2024 against the new state flag design, but the city hasn't opposed flying it since, said city spokesman Brad Phenow. "Now we've been following suit, and if we know when a flag needs to be replaced, we replace it with a new one," he said. The former state flag displayed the old state seal, which showed a white settler plowing a field while looking at a Native American man riding toward him on horseback. The imagery dates back to when Minnesota was still a territory and is viewed as a celebration of the idea that settlers were destined to take over the land. Tribes criticized that image as racist and it has long been the subject of controversy. High school students first brought these concerns to state lawmakers in 2017, but a redesign push didn't take hold until recently. A 13-member commission was given four months in late 2023 and a budget of $35,000 to redesign the flag and seal. They sifted through thousands of flag submissions from the public and narrowed it down to a finalist while making a few tweaks. The winner was a deep blue abstract shape of Minnesota with a white eight-pointed star - a nod to the state's motto, "Star of the North" - next to a block of light blue to represent Minnesota's abundance of water. The old flag was adopted in 1957, while the state seal represented Minnesota for most of the state's 166-year history. Both were replaced in 2024 on May 11 - Statehood Day. Crosslake Mayor Jackson Purfeerst cited the Native American imagery as a reason the city voted to continue flying it. "We are flying the original Minnesota state flag because of how rich Crosslake's history is with Native Americans and the tribes," Purfeerst said in a video on Facebook that garnered more than 500 comments of praise. "We have multiple Indian burial grounds all over town. We had one of the biggest battles of Native Americans on Rush Lake. ... We are honoring our history, we are honoring our culture, and we are honoring who came before us." In Babbitt, on the eastern edge of the Iron Range, the City Council first approved a measure opposing the new flag in 2024. It voted in February against flying the new flag, a decision that Councilor Jim Lassi says has garnered much community support. "Historically, we've probably had one of the most beautiful flags out of all 50 states," Lassi said. "You could tell right away that it represents Minnesota," with lakes and showy lady's slippers woven into the design. Lassi said the new flag is "ugly" and caters to "wokeness." Detroit Lakes went back and forth on the new flag. In March, the council voted in support of flying it, but then came backlash from residents and some council members. They voted again in May to not fly it, then in June decided not to fly either state flag after a tie-breaking vote from the mayor. Brian Ahlsten, who lives in Detroit Lakes and previously lived in the Twin Cities, said at the June council meeting that the new state flag doesn't represent rural Minnesota. "Some have tried to turn this into a left vs. right issue," he said. "This is more of a Twin Cities vs. greater Minnesota issue. … This flag serves to drive a wedge between us. It's a Twin Cities flag. It's not a greater Minnesota flag." Wendy Spry, who serves on the council and is an enrolled member of White Earth Nation, said the flag was changed for a reason. "This council turned its back on unity and welcomeness," she said. --- (Jana Hollingsworth, Trey Mewes and Jp Lawrence of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.) --- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
