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Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday called for repealing and replacing a $791 million transportation bill that she championed last fall, conceding that a GOP-led challenge to the bill was likely to succeed.

The law鈥檚 revenue provisions were frozen following a referral to the November ballot of an initiative that would repeal the legislation, House Bill 3991.

Republicans and Oregon Taxpayers United successfully gathered far more signatures than necessary to place the initiative on the ballot. Kotek appeared to bow to political reality with Wednesday鈥檚 retreat.

鈥淥pponents of the bill and thousands of Oregonians across the state have made their point, and we need to move in a new direction,鈥� Kotek said.

In her remarks to the Oregon Transportation Forum on Wednesday, Kotek said leaving HB 3991 in place would cause the Oregon Department of Transportation to incur implementation costs without new revenue to pay for it. She called for emergency funding for ODOT.

Kotek pledged to convene a bipartisan group of lawmakers, stakeholders and technical experts to develop a comprehensive transportation package for 2027.

State Sen. Christine Drazan, a Canby Republican who plans to challenge Kotek for her job in November, expressed in a prepared statement that Kotek 鈥渃an鈥檛 be trusted鈥� with tax dollars.

鈥淚f Tina is afraid of Oregonians voting on her gas tax this November, she鈥檚 not going to like what they have to say about her leadership,鈥� Drazan stated.