OR: Oregon lawmakers will convene next week to raise taxes, fees for transportation. Here’s what we know so far

After failing to pass a transportation funding package earlier this summer, Oregon Democrats are headed for a special session next week with a revised proposal that they hope to get across the finish line, though details of the plan have been scarce.

The bill that lawmakers are expected to take up, which Democratic leaders said Tuesday they would make public Wednesday, would raise the state’s 40 cents per gallon gas tax by 6 cents, increase DMV fees and double the state’s 0.1% payroll tax for transit, among other provisions.

With just days left until the session begins on Aug. 29, top Democrats haven’t said exactly how much revenue the plan would generate, beyond saying it would prevent layoffs and other cuts at the Oregon Department of Transportation. The revenue would also help cities, counties and public transit districts maintain their services.

Despite the lack of details, Gov. Tina Kotek and some key Democrats say they are confident that enough lawmakers will both show up to Salem over Labor Day weekend and, in smaller numbers, vote in support of the proposal.

“I’ve been hearing very positive things about the vote count,” Rep. Susan McLain, a Democrat from Forest Grove and member of the legislative transportation committee, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “We have been continuously answering questions and asking questions and seeing where people are at. ... What I’ve been hearing has been very encouraging.”

Democrats could theoretically pass any revenue-raising measures along party lines with no Republican support, but getting the backing of every caucus member has proven difficult in the recent past. A comprehensive transportation funding proposal put forward by top Democrats earlier this year died after they failed to convince every member of their party to support it.

Under Oregon rules, it takes three-fifths of lawmakers in both chambers to pass a bill that raises revenue.

Multiple House Democrats in recent weeks have privately raised concerns about the updated proposal, according to three lawmakers who spoke to The Oregonian/OregonLive on background to discuss private conversations.

But no Democrat has publicly said they will not support the package, which is essentially a slimmer version of the proposal that narrowly died earlier this year.

“House members understand the stakes here,” said a spokesperson for House Speaker Julie Fahey, a Eugene Democrat. “Our local communities are counting on us to deliver, and based on the feedback we’ve received, the speaker believes the proposal is in a good place.”

Lawmakers will hold one public hearing on the package on Monday at 3 p.m. before taking it up in committee later in the week.

Top Republicans have continued to criticize Democrats for wanting to raise taxes and fees. Democrats’ willingness to support such a proposal without more public input is “reflective of the fact that these folks don’t have their act together,” House Republican Leader Christine Drazan of Canby told The Oregonian/OregonLive last week.

Republicans have few realistic options to fight the proposal if every Democrat agrees to support it. Although Republicans could potentially delay votes by declining to waive procedural hurdles, many lawmakers in the minority party said they don’t expect their caucus to take the extreme measure of boycotting the session en masse to prevent Democrats a quorum. Oregon requires two-thirds of lawmakers, not a simple majority, to be present to allow votes to take place.

Also, not every Republican has expressed vocal opposition to the proposal. Rep. Kevin Mannix, a Salem Republican who voted with Democrats in favor of a pared-down transportation funding package in the waning days of this year’s regular session, said last week he is “reserving judgment” on the funding plan.

Rep. Cyrus Javadi, a Republican from Tillamook, has acknowledged in recent blog posts that Oregon’s main sources of transportation funding — the state’s gas tax, DMV fees and fees on trucking companies — have not kept pace with inflation or costs for the state or local governments.

“Let’s be clear: the gas tax increase won’t fix everything,” Javadi wrote in an Aug. 16 post. “But it will help prevent layoffs. It will keep plows on the road. It will qualify us for matching (federal) funds. And it will buy us time. Time to finally deal with the structural problems we’ve ignored for too long.”