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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After an hours-long delay on Friday yielded little progress, Oregon lawmakers are set to reconvene for the special legislative session Sunday, with Democrats hoping to pass a critical transportation bill.
After the late start, the meeting in the Oregon House ended Friday night without final decisions made on transportation.
Gov. Tina Kotek is sponsoring this bill and called the session after it failed during the regular session that ended in June.
The bill would call for an increase of six cents a gallon to the gas tax, an increase in titling fees, doubling of vehicle registration fees, as well as doubling the payroll tax for public transit.
The big push for the bill was going to be in the House on Friday morning. However, not enough Democrats showed up in time to achieve quorum, delaying any movement for hours. According to Senate Republicans, this was because a Democratic lawmaker was late due to a flight delay.
A reading of the bill finally took place that evening.
The House wasn’t alone, as Senate Democrats failed to get the votes to adopt their special session rules because four of their members were not present.
Though some did show up to give testimony for a public hearing, they eventually went back home when the meeting was so severely delayed.
“We have a bunch of people here who came to take the day off, to see what was going to happen,” said Melissa Unger, with the SEIU Local 503, whose members include ODOT workers facing layoffs. “I mean, they’re facing layoffs and so it was really frustrating to see that they didn’t come, or show up, to do their jobs.”
The governor says they need to pass this bill to fill ODOT’s massive budget gap and prevent up to 500 layoffs. However, although Democrats say the $791 million raised over the next two years would handle immediate needs, it’s not a long-term solution.
Republican leadership is against the bill, saying it relies too much on big increases in those taxes and fees and the state has the money.
When reached for comment on Saturday, House Republican Leader Christine Drazan claimed Democrats’ “incompetence” made them neglect those waiting to testify at the public hearing. She also emphasized the Republicans’ commitment to not raise taxes.
“House Republicans are committed to defeating these massive tax hikes and fee increases and have proposed multiple alternatives that prioritize road maintenance and safety, and don’t raise taxes,” Drazan said. “Our proposed amendment frees up and reprioritizes around $475 million to fill potholes, plow snow, and keep Oregonians safe.”
She continued, “We look forward to returning to the Capitol Sunday to hear from Oregonians who are demanding a measured approach to the transportation needs of the state without forcing the largest transportation tax increase in Oregon’s history.”
Should it clear the House in Sunday’s session, the bill would then be sent to the Senate.
KOIN 6 has also reached out to Gov. Kotek and the Oregon Democratic legislation for comment. This story will be updated if we hear back.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this story.
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Jenna Deml
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