Washington County government relations team briefs committee on mid‑session transportation and housing proposals

Carly Silva Gabrielson, government relations manager for Washington County, briefed the WCCC on the state legislative session and a draft transportation funding framework that state leaders circulated in April.

Gabrielson said the Legislature is roughly halfway through the session and that the package released so far is a starting framework subject to negotiation. The timeline she gave: first‑chamber work‑session deadlines passed April 9, the second‑chamber deadline is May 9, the state revenue forecast is scheduled for May 14, and the constitutional sine die is June 29 (with a target sine die of June 18). The county government relations team plans to monitor and provide testimony during public hearings expected later in April and through May.

On housing, Gabrielson summarized the governor's housing initiative components and related bills under active consideration, notably HB 2318 (a middle‑housing/land‑use bill that would change allowed housing types and create new local deadlines for housing approvals) and HB 3031 (a "housing infrastructure production fund" proposal for a $100 million program to support infrastructure for housing development). She also described HB 2316 (described to the committee as a bill creating "Home Start Lands" to give priority access to first‑time buyers for selected state parcels), noting property‑tax and occupancy restrictions described in the draft.

On transportation, Gabrielson outlined revenue mechanisms included in the draft framework and flagged that negotiations are ongoing. Items she listed included:

- A new vehicle purchase system‑use charge (described in the framework as an 11% charge) that the framework estimates could generate about $486 million per biennium, with roughly half directed to major project completion and the remainder to the State Highway Trust Fund. Gabrielson stressed this is a draft estimate and subject to change. - An increase in the gas tax phased in starting in January 2026 (an initial 8¢ per gallon with an additional 4¢ per year in later phases, as described in the framework). - A road‑user charge and steps to modernize user fees so electric and hybrid vehicles contribute to system funding; the revenue from an implemented road‑user charge was not included in the headline $1.9 billion figure because that program's revenues remain uncertain. - An increase in title and registration fees (Gabrielson noted that local lobbyists raised equity questions about registration‑fee increases and the package includes a small payroll‑tax increment for transit — she said the draft totaled about 0.08% in one formulation) and a 3% tire tax proposed in the draft, among other items.

Gabrielson said county and local lobbyists were continuing conversations about accountability measures for ODOT and that consultants were auditing ODOT for efficiency savings that could be identified during negotiations.

Committee members asked about equity impacts of registration and title fee increases, the timing of implementation, and accountability. Mayor Rosenthal asked whether measures had been screened through climate‑smart analysis; Gabrielson said most details remain to be finalized and recommended jurisdictions use the public‑testimony windows and the May revenue forecast to press for equity and accountability language.

On the Tualatin‑Redland Highway (TB Highway) project, Gabrielson summarized local lobbying: staff are meeting with legislators and seeking lottery funding to fill gaps; Legislative champions named in the briefing were Senator Campos and Representative Chi Chi. Gabrielson asked committee members to consider testifying to preserve or increase the package numbers during the public hearings.

Ending: Gabrielson closed by offering to circulate the state map of "Home Start Lands" she referenced and to share her slides and materials with staff; committee members requested the materials be distributed to member jurisdictions for review and possible testimony.