Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek had plenty of blame to dole out Saturday, a day after the surprising and dramatic collapse of her party’s signature transportation funding bill.
In a meeting with reporters in Salem, Kotek accused Republicans of being unreasonable by refusing to waive legislative rules that might have allowed at least some new funding for the Oregon Department of Transportation.
In the session’s final moments, House Republicans declined to provide enough votes to fast-track Democrats’ last-ditch effort at raising gas taxes by 3 cents per gallon.
“There was bipartisan support for that. There was time to do that,” Kotek said. “What didn’t happen was support from Republican leaders who just wanted to go home.”
The governor also had choice words for Democratic leaders, who opted to adjourn the session two days earlier than necessary rather than battle for transportation funding into the weekend.
“I want to point out that it is Saturday here in Salem and my team is working,” she said, “but the Legislature has gone home.”
Kotek also seemed to hint she would entertain calling the Legislature back into a special session, something she did last year to tackle wildfire funding.
“As governor, my job is to get the job done and I have tools at my disposal to get that done,” Kotek said, “and I just hope everyone’s going to show up for work when they need it.”
Governor, GOP trade blame
What Kotek didn’t have was any blame for herself.
The governor spent much of this year’s legislative session focused on the issues that have dominated her attention since taking office: housing and homelessness, behavioral health, and education. According to some lawmakers, she was far less engaged on the question of transportation funding — the session’s most prominent debate.
Kotek disputed that characterization Saturday, saying she was in regular contact with top Democrats.
“I did a lot of work behind the scenes,” she said. “It was a very long process, almost two years of work. And every time we worked on it, they’re like, ‘We’re going to get there, we’re going to get there.’”
Whatever the case, the governor was unquestionably engaged Friday, as Democrats watched their plans for an ambitious road funding bill crumble.
In an attempt to avert a funding hole at ODOT, Kotek spent a good portion of the day holed up in the Capitol. In meetings with lawmakers she worked to rally votes for a stop-gap funding bill, House Bill 3402.
Kotek insists the votes were there in both chambers to pass the proposal. But the bill couldn’t find support from two-thirds of House members that would have been required to speed it to a floor vote.
“That didn’t get done,” she said. “It didn’t get done because of procedural partisanship.”
But Republicans said Friday that it wasn’t their job to pave the road for a bill many in their party did not support. House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, lay blame squarely on Democrats for leaving a top session priority vulnerable.
“All session long, people asked us, ‘Well, what do you think of the transportation package?’ And we’d say, ‘we haven’t seen it,’” Drazan told reporters just before midnight.
“If this was a priority for them, they should have gotten 36 and 18 [required votes in the House and Senate] and a governor’s signature months ago.”
Oregon Democrats made it a top goal of the session to pass a paradigm-shifting plan that would generate billions for road upkeep and shift the state to a more sustainable means of funding that work in the future.
That bill, House Bill 2025, would have generated about $11.7 billion over a decade — via hikes to taxes on fuel and car sales, increases to titling and registration fees, and more.
The bill would have funded overdue highway projects, injected new money into transit systems, help build safer streets for pedestrians, and ensured electric vehicle drivers contributed equitably to road funding.
But despite a great deal of preparation, and a monthslong bipartisan tour of the state last summer, the bill was introduced with less than three weeks left in the six-month session. And it quickly prompted skepticism from Democrats who would be key to pass a bill that required a three-fifths majority.
Republicans showed near unanimity in their opposition and, despite an attempt to modify the proposal to win over Democrats, it couldn’t find enough votes.
‘One of the largest layoffs in Oregon history’
The question now becomes how Oregon moves forward.
ODOT has said it will need to eliminate more than 880 positions if it didn’t get an infusion of at least $350 million in the next budget. And while it’s clear the agency has hundreds of positions vacant, Kotek says she is preparing pink slips.
“Without the revenue, I will need to lay off 600 to 700 workers who provide essential services right now,” she told lawmakers during a Friday evening committee meeting. “That would be one of the largest layoffs in Oregon history.”
But the governor also suggested Saturday she’d be taking other actions. And while she would not offer specifics, Kotek said that lawmakers who might be ready for a break following an arduous legislative session will soon be hearing from her.
“I don’t care how tired you are, I don’t care what your vacation plans are,” she said. “We are going to solve this. You’re going to be spending a lot more time with me. We need to get this figured out.”
Republican lawmakers said Friday night they are more than willing to talk — if Democrats are willing to take their proposals seriously. The party put forward a plan this year that would have diverted hundreds of millions from public transit, electric vehicles and other spending to pay for road maintenance.
“If Democrats are going to get real about that conversation, I think we’re ready to start talking about it tomorrow,” said Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles. “I don’t know why we’re here at the end of the session saying that.”
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
