AOC, LOC brief WCCC on likely elements and timing of Oregon transportation package

Brian Worley of the Association of Oregon Counties and Jim McCauley of the League of Oregon Cities told the Washington County Coordinating Committee on Feb. 14 that the state Legislature is preparing a transportation package and that the joint committee on transportation expects to release a framework by Feb. 14 with a bill to follow in mid-April.

The presentation summarized recent work-group reports and the revenue tools being considered to address growing shortfalls in the state highway fund, including fuel-tax indexing, increased vehicle-registration tiers (especially for electric vehicles), vehicle sales or ownership taxes, road-usage (VMT) charges and a retail delivery fee. Worley said, “we had our last gas tax increase with HB 2017 that was passed in 2017,” and added that inflation and construction-cost increases have driven a large ODOT deficit.

Why it matters: county and city transportation budgets depend on the state highway fund and on local matches. A package that changes how transportation is funded will affect long-term maintenance, preservation and capacity projects across Washington County and other local jurisdictions.

Key details from the briefing

- Timeline: Worley said the joint committee'produced work-group reports over the interim and that a legislative framework was expected by Feb. 14, with an actual bill anticipated in mid-April. He described work-group themes as “back to basics” maintenance; preservation; active and public transit; and fulfilling commitments from the 2017 package.

- Revenue options under active discussion: the presenters flagged several revenue streams under consideration: fuel-tax indexing to keep pace with inflation; higher tiered vehicle registration fees (first enacted in HB 2017) to better capture EV contributions; road-usage (VMT) programs as a medium- to long-term transition; a sales or ownership tax on vehicles; and retail-delivery fees tied to e-commerce. Worley said enhanced registration fees and indexing are likely to receive significant attention.

- Other bills and issues: Worley and McCauley identified bills and topics they are tracking, including SB 687 (which would change local requirements for some local fuel and vehicle-registration fees), HB 2154 (County Road Safety Corridors, to make some pilot double-fine areas permanent), and what the presenters referred to as HP 3,119 (described in the briefing as an advanced clean trucks-related delay bill). They also noted the constitutionally required highway-cost allocation study (HCAS), continued debate over project-labor agreements, and repeated legislative attention to abandoned RV cleanup funds.

Questions and local concerns

County and city officials pressed presenters on several local concerns. Commissioner Feidi asked which options are most likely to appear in the final package and raised concerns about voter control and public accountability for locally applied fees; Worley said local education and outreach will be needed because “the vast majority of the public is pretty unaware of transportation fees and taxes” and noted AOC staff and counties are preparing outreach resources. Multiple mayors and commissioners asked about equity and low-income impacts if the state moves to road-usage charges; presenters said a mandatory VMT program would be structured as a replacement for, not an addition to, the gas tax, and that specific low-income exemptions or offsets have not been included in rate proposals discussed so far.

Diverging views on local authority and voter approval

Presenters said SB 687 proposes to allow some local registration or vehicle fees without a local vote in jurisdictions above certain population thresholds, a change that drew questions. McCauley explained that local governments value tools to raise revenue but stressed AOC and LOC insist such tools not replace the traditional 50/30/20 split between state, counties and cities.

What remains undecided

Presenters and attendees agreed that while there is broad interest in indexing, vehicle-registration adjustments and other mixes of revenue, the final package size and composition remain fluid. McCauley said estimates for a full transportation package range widely; some voices are discussing a multi-billion-dollar package at levels comparable to 2017, while others have proposed much smaller packages that would address only immediate ODOT shortfalls.

Ending note

Worley and McCauley told the committee they will continue to monitor bills as the session proceeds and will return to jurisdictions with more detail as draft legislation emerges.