Democratic legislators advance bill to move gas-tax referendum to May

A bill to reschedule the date for a controversial transportation tax referendum from November to May is headed to the Oregon Senate for a vote. 

Senate Bill 1599 is a Democratic-led attempt to move the date that Oregon voters can approve or reject parts of a 2025 transportation law. It would put this issue on the ballot of the May 19 primary election. Lawmakers on a joint subcommittee voted 5-3 along party lines to advance the bill at a tense meeting Thursday, Feb. 12. 

Supporters say moving the date would give voters a say on the measure as soon as possible, and give lawmakers the clarity they need to find a long-term funding solution as the Oregon Department of Transportation’s budget gap grows. Many opponents, however, characterized it as an effort to subvert the will of nearly a quarter-million voters and protect Democrats from appearing on general election ballots next to an unpopular tax hike. 

Although Democrats in the fall passed a law to raise $4.3 billion for the agency over the next decade, a Republican-led campaign paused most of that revenue from flowing into the agency’s maintenance and operation fund until a referendum in November.

Democrats are trying to move the vote to an earlier date because rules prohibit them from repealing any law that has been referred to the ballot.

More than 4,500 people submitted written testimony against the bill and more than 200 registered to speak against it at two public hearings this week, arguing it ignores the will of more than 200,000 Oregonians who signed referendum petitions expecting the vote to take place in November. Just 65 people submitted testimony supporting it. 

“I oppose this measure, not simply because it changes an election date, but because it fundamentally alters the balance of power between the legislature and the people of Oregon,” said Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, one of the leaders of the campaign to refer the law to the ballot. 

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, said he believes the bill will be “in front of the courts.” Starr was also a leader in the campaign.

Several other Republican lawmakers spoke against rescheduling the referendum vote, expressing frustration that Gov. Tina Kotek waited to sign the transportation bill she championed, and limited the time frame they had to collect signatures for the No Tax Oregon campaign. Others shared concerns that primaries historically have lower voter turnout than general elections. 

“When the voters of Oregon take their time to weigh in how they did in such a short amount of time, with almost four times as many signatures as needed to cry out to their legislators to say, ‘We don’t like this, we’ve tried to use our voice in so many ways and this is all we have left,’ and we’re saying no … is so disrespectful,” House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, said.

Elmer said the bill was rushed and sets a poor precedent for the future. 

Lawmakers have until Feb. 25 to pass the bill, according to the secretary of state, and it must include Kotek’s signature for it to appear on the ballot on the date of the primary election. 

Democrats push back

Rep. Willy Chotzen, D-Portland, contested remarks from his Republican colleagues. 

“This is in no way unprecedented,” Chotzen said, after quoting Starr’s House floor remarks in 1999 when he supported similar legislation to move a referendum on a gas tax law to May.

Starr was in the majority when lawmakers over two decades ago passed a bill that raised the gas tax and set the referendum election date for May. In that election, more than 87% of voters rejected a gas tax increase.

“To compare what happened in 1999 to 2025 and 2026 is a false comparison,” Starr said, adding that the bill to raise gas taxes that year had support from across the political aisle. 

Funding for ODOT operations and maintenance has steadily declined as inflation has jacked up the cost of materials the state uses to maintain its roads, and as the state receives less gas tax revenue as more Oregonians drive electric and fuel-efficient vehicles.

The transportation department is $242 million short for the current two-year budget cycle. Starting next year, it will only be able to afford paving its interstates, meaning Oregon drivers can expect more potholes, rutted roads, faded pavement markings and higher vehicle repair costs, department chief engineer Tova Peltz previously told lawmakers. 

Agency leaders told lawmakers Tuesday they could close that gap by redirecting funding set aside for bridge and seismic projects in the Portland area, public transit and grant programs meant to improve road safety near schools and pedestrian paths. This would require amending several laws. Other options to fill the gap would require laying off up to 500 workers.

Sen. Khanh Phạm, D-Portland, said legislators are responsible for finding a long-term policy and investment solution that preserves Oregon’s transportation infrastructure. 

“Our statewide transportation system is literally on the verge of collapse, and so as legislators we have an enormous responsibility to figure out how to prevent that from happening,” she said.