Republican lawmakers in the Oregon House have unveiled their preferred response to a road maintenance backlog that state and local transportation officials say must be addressed this year.
Their solution: Cutting or repurposing more than $730 million in state funding currently reserved for things like public transit, bicycle projects and agency staff. Much of that money would then be spent on nuts-and-bolts road work.
“Republicans across the building share the value of ensuring that Oregonians don’t pay more at the pump and that we call on this agency to tighten its belt,” House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, told reporters at a press conference in front of Oregon Department of Transportation Headquarters. “This proposal is intended to advance that conversation with some very clear specifics.”
As a whole, the House Republican framework is more of a rhetorical device than a realistic vision of what lawmakers will pass.
If implemented, it would lead to deep service cuts at public transit agencies around the state, slash ODOT’s budgeted workforce by hundreds and result in less funding for things such as electric vehicle rebates and projects that encourage biking and walking. All of those ideas are likely to be deeply unpopular with supermajority Democrats, who will have final say over what appears in any bill.
At the same time, Republicans say their proposal achieves what’s important: finding meaningful money to plow into road upkeep without raising taxes. The plan also proposes issuing bonds to pay for unfinished highway megaprojects, including a project to widen Interstate 5 through the Rose Quarter in Portland.
Among the top items in the Republican proposal, which lawmakers said they created after delving into ODOT’s budget:
- Repurposing a 0.1% tax that Oregon workers pay out of their paychecks in order to fund public transit. The payroll tax was created by the Legislature in 2017 and has become a major source of funding for transit agencies, which have been adamant that they face major cuts without an increase this year. Instead, Republicans say the money — around $300 million a budget cycle — should be spent on road upkeep. “We’re suggesting you go back to pre-2017,” Boshart Davis said, suggesting local governments, strapped for cash themselves, could pay for transit services.
- Pulling funding for hundreds of positions that are sitting vacant within ODOT. Rather than filling those roles, Republicans say the state could direct more than $68 million to road and bridge projects.
- Requiring that ODOT lease out unused office space in its Salem headquarters, which Republicans say could generate more than $55 million per budget.
- Cutting all ODOT funding by 3%, or around $40 million per budget.
- Redirecting $47 million spent on safe bike and pedestrian facilities, $38 million for passenger train services, $25 million for ODOT’s civil rights division, $14 million for ODOT climate initiatives, and more.
All told, the House GOP says its proposals free up about $732 million in the next two-year budget, theoretically avoiding layoffs ODOT has said will be necessary without at least $354 million in new revenue.
