Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has called a special session of the state legislature to begin on August 29. The session will focus on funding for basic road maintenance and operations at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), as well as addressing financial needs for local governments and transit districts, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Oregon plans to inform its members about several measures reportedly included in the governor’s proposal. These include raising the state gas tax from 40 cents to 46 cents per gallon, with half of the increase going to the state, 30% to counties, and 20% to cities. Vehicle registration fees would rise by $42, while electric vehicle owners would face an additional $30 fee on top of existing registration costs. The title fee for vehicles would increase by $139. Additionally, the current employee payroll tax for transit would double from 0.1% to 0.2%.
During the regular legislative session earlier this year, NFIB members showed strong opposition to similar increases in taxes and fees, with 93% voting against them.
“For small businesses, the cost pressures of transportation fuel far outweigh challenges relating to transportation infrastructure,” said Randy Gould, NFIB Oregon Field Sales Representative. “The proposed gas tax increase would add to that pressure significantly, not to mention the various other tax and fee hikes, including the proposed doubling of the current statewide transit tax on employee wages. Those are dollars I have to withhold from my employees’ paychecks, whether they use transit or not.”
Gould also raised concerns about ODOT’s management: “There is broad agreement across the political spectrum that transportation is a legitimate purpose for spending taxpayer dollars, but I am deeply concerned about throwing more money at a state agency that has been plagued by financial mismanagement and has neglected to deliver on promises the legislature made to Oregonians the last time they asked us to pay more for transportation. We have not seen a good return on that investment. ODOT needs to earn back our trust.”
NFIB is encouraging its members to participate in their Action Alert campaign so their opinions can be heard regarding these proposals.
