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House defeats bill to revise I‑5 bridge statutes; supporters cite federal funds and inter‑state agreements
Summary
House Bill 2931, which would revise Oregon statutes to reflect the current Interstate 5 Bridge replacement project and enable toll accounting and bonding, failed to receive a constitutional majority on final passage. Supporters said the bill modernizes financing authorities; opponents or insufficient votes left the measure short.
The Oregon House of Representatives failed to pass House Bill 2931 on final reading, a measure intended to update state law for the Interstate 5 bridge replacement project and to authorize toll accounting and certain financing mechanisms with Washington state.
Supporters said the bill would clarify the statutory definition of the Interstate 5 bridge replacement project, authorize intergovernmental agreements with Washington, create a toll account for ODOT, and permit the state treasurer to issue bonds for toll‑backed projects after legislative approval. Representative McLean, carrying the bill, said the legislation “modifies Oregon laws related to financing the bi‑state I‑5 bridge project to enable the delivery and implementation of the new bridge in partnership with Washington state.” He noted more than $2,000,000,000 in federal commitments to date and that tolls will be part of the funding plan.
McLean said the bill does not grant new tolling authority but cleans up statutes after federal reviews and permits interstate toll enforcement through civil penalties and administrative fees where necessary.
On a final vote, the clerk announced that House Bill 29 31 “having not received the constitutional majority, is declared failed.” Representative Nelson subsequently served notice of possible reconsideration; the sponsor and supporters indicated motion to reconsider could appear on a future calendar.
Supporters described the bill as a technical and statutory alignment measure to enable project delivery in coordination with Washington. The bill would have created an Interstate 5 Bridge toll account within ODOT and authorized transfers between the toll account and the toll program fund for authorized purposes.
