Would you pay an extra $60 per year to save ODOT? – BikePortland

When the 2025 legislative session began, the question around transportation was whether Oregonians would support a bold new approach to funding; one that would begin to wean us off an unsustainable reliance on the gas tax, one that would spread driving-related fees more equitably, one that would make a dent in much-needed maintenance, one that would help us move the needle on crucial goals like saving lives and saving our planet from the ravages of climate change.

By the end of the 2025 legislative session, those questions were left unanswered as a major transportation package fell on its face and never received a full vote in the House or Senate.

Now, as the largest layoffs in state history take hold in every corner of Oregon and the consequences of this massive political failure become tangible, new questions are being asked.

With an announcement from Governor Kotek about a special session imminent, at least one Republican lawmaker is girding himself for the hard choices he’ll have to make to bring the Oregon Department of Transportation back from the brink, re-open maintenance stations, and return workers back to their jobs.

Republican House Representative Mark Owens has represented District 60 since 2020. In May, long before a transportation package had been revealed, he told constituents where he stood on the issue: “I want to be clear about where I stand: I will not support increasing the gas tax or registration costs—while serious issues of waste and mismanagement persist in our agencies.”

Today, Rep. Owens appears to be having second thoughts. One of the 12 maintenance stations ODOT is closing down is in his district.

“In House District 60 alone, dozens are losing their jobs,” he said in his latest newsletter. “These are real jobs, held by real Oregonians.” “Unfortunately, the failure to pass any package means communities like ours are now seeing the consequences first,” Owens continued. “This is about more than plows and pavement, this is about safety, jobs, and what kind of state we want to live in.”

Rep. Owens was a guest on the Harney County Live radio show this morning, where he said Governor Kotek will announce details of a special session this week. Owens suspects the package Kotek and Democratic party leaders will put on the table will be a six-cent gas tax increase and relatively modest increases to vehicle title and registration fees.

The bill would be a dramatically pared-down version of the original transportation package proposed in House Bill 2025, which sought a 15-cent gas tax increase and an eventual indexing to inflation. A second version of the bill proposed a 12-cent gas tax, and the last ditch effort by lawmakers in the waning hours of session (HB 3402) sought a meager three-cent increase.

While Rep. Owens said he wouldn’t support any gas tax increase back in May, he seems amenable today.

“[When it comes to a gas tax increase] what would you like me to do?” Owens asked show host Mindy Gould this morning.

“I’m gonna ask you this question, Mindy, live: Are you OK paying six cents a gallon more in gas tax if we could bring those employees back?”

“I would be,” Gould immediately replied.

Owens then said 80% of the people he’s asked that question also said yes. And later in the interview he seemed to lobby for the six-cent increase.

“If gas taxes go up 6 cents, you would be paying an extra $60 a year,” Owens said. “You know, what’s a tire cost if you blow it up in a pothole? Yeah. So that’s what we’re facing.”

Owens also said in the interview that talks are already underway with House Speaker Julie Fahey to identify gap funding to prevent workers from leaving their jobs by the July 31 deadline. That’s just one of several challenging moving parts that will hang over the next few weeks as the politics continues to evolve around this issue. Another big question is whether or not enough Republicans will return to the capitol to give the quorum needed to pass laws.

Given Owens’ comments today, the severity of the funding crisis appears to be changing the political calculus on both sides of the aisle.