Oregon Democrats know where they want to end up later this month, when they’ll take up new transportation tax hikes.
When they might arrive is far less clear.
With an Aug. 29 special session fast approaching, Republican leaders are adamant they won’t make anything easy on the majority party. That includes, apparently, an insistence that Democrats’ transportation funding bill be read on three consecutive days in each chamber, a Constitutional requirement that is often waived in special sessions.
“Oregonians would not want us to expedite tax increases and we won’t,” House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said last week.
The sentiment – if it prevails – could have implications for a session perched on the cusp of Labor Day weekend, when legislative leaders are already threading the needle of lawmakers’ summer vacation plans.
Democrats are hoping to keep time in the Capitol to a minimum, but say they need to act urgently. Without at least $354 million more than its current budget, the Oregon Department of Transportation plans to lay off around 10% of employees next month.
Under existing plans, the House would convene Friday to take up a proposal from Gov. Tina Kotek to hike the state’s gas tax from 40 to 46 cents per gallon, double a tax Oregon workers pay to fund transit, and increase vehicle titling and registration fees. The Senate plans to meet Monday, Labor Day, to finish the job.
But without Republican support, passing the bill in just two days won’t be possible. A two-thirds vote in each chamber – a higher bar than Democrats can clear on their own – is necessary to waive rules and fast-track the proposal.
“My caucus believes that, ultimately, this is a bad bill for the state of Oregon,” Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said last week. “I don’t know anyone in my caucus that wants to facilitate the process and have it move expeditiously.”
Republicans, Bonham said, want to maximize publicity for a Democratic tax hike they believe will be unpopular with the public. He suspects the session’s timing, when many Oregonians will be savoring the summer’s end, is no coincidence.
“The governor did this intentionally because she thinks the timing will leave you guys no time to report and people will already be on vacation and won’t be paying attention,” Bonham said. “This whole thing is a scheme to do it on Labor Day weekend.”
Kotek’s office says that’s nonsense.
“That is a ludicrous accusation, and one that the Governor disputed when he raised it with her,” said Kotek’s spokeswoman, Roxy Mayer. “The date was selected in coordination with the Presiding Officers to accommodate legislators’ schedules. The Governor preferred an earlier date.”
Whatever the case, Bonham and Drazan insisted last week they want the session to extend longer than Democrats hope. But they might not have the final say.
If Democrats can convince enough rank-and-file Republicans to go against their leaders’ preference, they’ll be able to fast-track the bill. Doing so would require at least two Republicans to defect in the Senate and four in the House, assuming all Democrats are present.
Passing the tax hike bill will require a slightly smaller margin: three-fifths of lawmakers in each chamber, a number Democrats can theoretically achieve on their own.
The session’s timing isn’t the only question still remaining. Democrats have yet to offer any sense of how much revenue their proposal will actually raise, and the specifics of the bill still appear in flux.
As of Wednesday morning, chamber leaders also hadn’t announced when a public hearing on the bill would take place.
Some legislative observers see echoes of this year’s regular legislative session, when top Democrats unveiled a major proposal to fund road and bridge upkeep with fewer than three weeks left. With little time to negotiate support from skeptical Democrats, the proposal ultimately died, paving the way for next week’s special session.
One more question: What will the upcoming session ultimately cost taxpayers? According to legislative administrators, convening lawmakers for a day will cost $27,374 – enough to pay all 90 lawmakers a $178 per diem and a mileage reimbursement for their trip to Salem and back. Each subsequent day of session tacks on another $16,020.
