City councilors on Wednesday blasted what some described as a rushed process to approve funding for Moda Center renovations and a lease agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Councilors are beginning to grapple with how the city of Portland should manage the Moda Center, what it will take to keep the NBA team in town and who will benefit.

On Wednesday, they hosted what is expected to be the first of several work sessions on the Moda Center’s future.

An unscientific city-commissioned survey found split opinion on whether Portland should invest potentially $120 million in modernizing the arena, which dates to 1995. The city took ownership of the arena in 2025.

“It’s clear to me that Portlanders are not speaking with one voice,” Councilor Candace Avalos said. “People are divided on whether the Moda Center should be renovated, or even more skeptical about committing significant public dollars. So to me what that means is we just have an obligation to slow down, ask good questions (and) make sure that the public understands the choices that are in front of us.”

The survey garnered more than 18,000 responses, with most respondents either strongly in favor or strongly opposed to Moda Center renovations.

Avalos said it’s important that Trail Blazers ownership chip in financially. She said she wants to see a “meaningful private capital contribution from ownership, consistent with many arena deals around the country. That is probably my number-one issue.”

Avalos added, “I’m going to have a hard time agreeing to give public money if I’m not seeing a private investment.”

Councilor Dan Ryan said the city should make the Moda Center into an asset it can be proud of, comparing it to the Portland International Airport, which has undergone a more than $2 billion renovation and expansion.

“When I play this forward, I can’t see one scenario where having … the Portland Trail Blazers leave our city and that’s going to be good for the long term for my hometown,” he said.

Looming in the background is uncertainty regarding Trail Blazers’ principal owner Tom Dundon’s intentions for the franchise. Dundon has few local ties and business interests in other states, including the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Dundon and his ownership group purchased the Blazers last year from Paul Allen’s estate for more than $4 billion.

While city councilors laid out their priorities, Dundon spoke across town to business and political leaders, including Gov. Tina Kotek, at a Portland Metro Chamber event.

“The state is committed to a new Moda Center,” Kotek said, according to a KATU video of the event. “We can do this — should do it.”

Asked whether the Blazers’ ownership would contribute to Moda Center renovations, Dundon said the Blazers will chip in through taxes on players’ salaries as part of a bill approved in the Oregon Legislature‘s last session, as well as fees on tickets.

“It feels like we’re making a pretty big investment by staying here and paying these tax rates and agreeing to these fees for dollars that go back into the building,” Dundon said.

The Moda Center actually generates more revenue from concerts and other events than it does from the Trail Blazers, as live events took off after the pandemic, a city staffer said Wednesday.  The arena also hosts the fledgling Portland Fire, the WNBA’s newest franchise.

In the runup to Wednesday’s work session, Mayor Keith Wilson and left-leaning city councilors traded barbs.

“Good process means sitting down, figuring out the math and keeping the public informed and empowered every step of the way, not duking it out in the media or on Instagram,” Wilson said in a letter he released Tuesday.

Councilor Mitch Green responded on social media that he was “unsettled” by the mayor’s viewpoint. “Rather than acknowledge that there are very real concerns about how this process has unfolded, he chose instead to cast critique as short-sighted and opportunistic in an effort to deflect from the impressive lack of rigor to date on his part,” Green posted to BlueSky.

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Woodburn became one of Oregon‘s fastest-growing cities, both in population and housing production, on its own. To sustain that momentum, the city needed some help.

Last week at Woodburn City Hall, Gov. Tina Kotek took part in a ceremonial signing of six laws that involve housing, including one that allows the city a one-time urban growth boundary expansion and gives it enough land to continue that growth for years.

“What’s great about this day and why we’re celebrating is these new laws will have a positive impact on the lives of everyday Oregonians,” Kotek said. “They’re about our seniors who deserve to age in the communities they have called home for decades.

“These bills are about young families who want to live near schools and safe neighborhoods where their kids can grow up.”

House Bill 4035, which Kotek signed into law March 31, makes it easier for cities with a population greater than 25,000 to make a one-time urban growth boundary expansion of up to 150 acres. An amendment to the bill will allow Woodburn to add 120 acres in its northwest corner inside the urban growth boundary. There, approximately 600 new homes will be built, including 30 percent designated as affordable housing.

Woodburn added 2,181 housing units between 2021 and 2025. The city is Oregon’s third-fastest-growing by population.

Before HB 4035 passed, city leaders projected Woodburn would run out of developable residential land in the next few years.

Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, said legislators saw how much development has occurred in Woodburn in recent years during a tour of the city in 2025.

“It is very clear that this is a community that doesn’t see checking off housing as just checking off the box,” Marsh said. “It is a community that sees housing as an avenue for really supporting families.

“Woodburn was the inspiration for legislation that was passed in the short session, and Woodburn will continue to be a model for cities across the state.”

Other new laws encourage development of affordable housing for seniors by allowing cities to designate land for individuals 55 and older, establish an affordable housing preservation program, expand self-certification of housing, prohibit private equity firms from purchasing single-family homes unless listed for sale to the public, and authorize a state fund for mixed-income housing.

Kotek set a goal of 36,000 new housing units produced in Oregon each year shortly after being sworn into office in 2024.

Approximately 50,000 new homes have been built in Oregon since she became governor, she said.

In 2025, new home permits were up by 5 percent in Oregon while they were down 3 percent in the entire United States, she added.

“We know that too many Oregonians are faced with an impossible choice,” Kotek said. “For some, that choice pushes them out of their house.

“We know that affordability is a relentless contributor to the issue of homelessness. And housing affordability is directly related to housing supply.”

That growth has led to strains on the capacity of cities’ aging infrastructure like water, sewer, roads and stormwater. Many of those cities don’t have the money to make those improvements.

Kotek called on the federal government to help pay for those kinds of projects.

“It is a major issue,” she said. “We have very aging systems here for water and sewer. So, they need upgrades anyway, but if we’re going to put more homes on those lines, they also need more help.

“If there is one thing the Trump administration could actually help us with is more financing for upgrading our public works systems — our water and sewer systems.”

Kotek also pointed out infrastructure investments made in the 2026 legislative session. Silverton got $5 million for its planned water treatment facility. St. Paul got $2 million for its water system.

Woodburn accomplished its previous growth without using the provisions of the new laws designed to encourage housing growth. Now it has the help to continue.

Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, applauded city leaders for making development possible at its current scale.

“They’re amazing,” said Thatcher, the sponsor of the original bill. “I’m proud to be associated with them in whatever way I happen to be. It’s a privilege to represent Woodburn. They’re go-getters.”

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Statesman Journal and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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A Marion County Circuit Court judge has struck down Gov. Tina Kotek’s executive order requiring union-friendly project labor agreements.

Judge Thomas Hart ruled from the bench on Thursday that Kotek had exceeded her constitutional authority by effectively requiring project labor agreements be used for large infrastructure projects.

A coalition of contractors and industry groups sued Kotek in February 2025, charging that her executive order, issued in December 2024, unconstitutionally made law without the Legislature. The contractors alleged the rules illegally hindered open-shop firms.

Hart agreed, granting a preliminary injunction in March 2025, preventing the rules from taking effect. Thursday’s ruling is a significant victory for contractors, but Kotek could appeal the decision.

Kotek, in a statement issued on Friday, did not indicate whether she would appeal Hart’s ruling.

“We’re currently evaluating the court’s oral ruling,” she stated via email. “I continue to believe that this was the right policy for the state at the right time. I am resolved to continue to find pathways to encourage fair, living-wage jobs that meet the needs of Oregon families while our state grows.”

Contractors hailed the ruling. Laurie Kendall, interim president and CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors‘ Pacific Northwest chapter, called the ruling a “big win for merit-shop contractors” in an email to members. She could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kotek’s executive order required project labor agreements to be used for state-funded projects when on-site labor amounts to 15 percent or more of project costs. The agreements, known as PLAs, typically mandate prevailing wages to be paid, but also prevent labor disruptions.

Contractors charge that PLAs raise costs for large-scale projects.

ABC was joined in the lawsuit by the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter, the Northwest Utility Contractors Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, and more than a dozen Oregon contractors.

The plaintiffs were represented by Joshua P. Dennis of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, Angela Otto of Dunn Carney, D. Brent Carpenter of Jordan Ramis and Darien S. Loiselle of Sokol Larkin. The governor was represented by the Oregon Department of Justice.

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SALEM — Plugging the Oregon Department of Transportation’s budget gap will mean keeping dozens of the agency’s positions vacant and redirecting funds from Safe Routes to School, Connect Oregon and projects related to seismic improvements, among other programs, lawmakers said Feb. 28.

“This is not a good budget,” Ways and Means Committee co-Chair Sen. Kate Lieber, D-Portland, told reporters. “This is a very, very, very difficult budget.”

Lawmakers also proposed modest reductions to the state’s general fund, mostly via vacancies.

Details were published March 1 while lawmakers were away from the Capitol for the weekend, and just days before the session must end March 8.

Lawmakers entered the 2026 legislative session expecting to make significant cuts to balance the state’s budget. At fault, Democrats said, was the passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act just days after lawmakers finalized the current state budget.

State economists later predicted a healthy surplus had transformed into a budget hole, and Gov. Tina Kotek ordered all agencies to immediately implement cost-saving measures. State agencies were also told to prepare and present plans to reduce their budgets by 2.5 percent and 5 percent. Those plans ultimately did not have to be used following a positive revenue forecast that increased the state’s expected general fund by nearly $253 million.

Democrats also passed a bill to partially disconnect Oregon from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. Senate Bill 1507 disconnects from three of the federal reconciliation bill’s provisions to claw back some lost revenue. It’s expected to net an additional $311.6 million for the state.

State budget writers Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, and Lieber said agencies will instead be asked to draw on their ending fund balances, hold off on hiring, and cut back on supplies and services. No direct services or programs will be impacted, they announced.

Lawmakers are proposing redirection of $218 million in unobligated funds to close a $288 million budget gap at ODOT. The remainder will come from vacancy savings. An estimated 360 employees have left the agency this biennium because of budget uncertainty, Lieber said.

Members of the Joint Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development heard from ODOT about potential areas to cut in a Feb. 10 informational hearing.

ODOT presented members of that subcommittee with a total of $585.8 million in potential cuts. Vacancies and layoffs made up $242 million of that total; the remaining $343.8 million was unobligated funding from various projects, programs and funds.

Legislators opted to avoid layoffs, instead electing to keep 138 positions vacant for the remainder of the biennium to save $38.9 million. Another $31.8 million in existing vacancy savings comes from employee departures from July 2025 to December 2025.

The remaining $218 million will come from moving money that is not yet obligated. Swapping ODOT state highway funds for federal funding would be the largest chunk of those savings at $85 million.

Other cuts, about $35 million, would be to ODOT’s bridge, seismic, preservation and safety funding from the 2017 transportation package. Cuts would mean pushing back or canceling projects focused on safety and preservation, according to an ODOT spokesperson.

Also impacted by the proposal are Connect Oregon, which provides grants for rail, marine and aviation projects; Safe Routes to School, for safety projects near schools; and the Transportation Operating, or “lawnmower” fund, which is funded by non-road gas tax funds and pays for things other funds can’t be used for.

Some unobligated funds, like Community Paths, which go to bike and pedestrian projects, money for driver’s education and a canceled project, would be used in their entirety.

Grants for public transportation, funding for megaprojects like the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project and some smaller amounts of unobligated funds were not impacted by the proposal.

Republicans have previously called for fund reallocations that Democrats rejected during the 2025 session. Lieber said those proposals were different because Republican reallocations would have been permanent. Democrats are hopeful that a new transportation proposal in 2027 will offer a different solution to fund ODOT.

“This idea that permanently redirecting these funds is the solution, I think that should be examined very closely because it is damaging for our infrastructure, for that agency, and for the Oregonians who use the streets,” Lieber said.

The ODOT cuts reflect a compromise on “tough choices,” Gov. Tina Kotek told reporters on Feb. 24.

“No one loves the proposal,” Kotek said, but added that it’s necessary to fund the agency’s basic maintenance and operation.

ODOT has long warned of an impending budget crisis due to a projected decline in gas tax revenue, limitations on where money can be spent, and inflation.

Attempts by Democrats to pass a transportation package in the 2025 legislative session were unsuccessful, prompting Kotek to call a special session to stave off layoffs.

A bill ultimately passed, mostly along party lines, to increase the gas tax, payroll tax and vehicle fees in addition to new accountability measures and an expanded road usage charge for electric vehicles.

Then hundreds of thousands of signatures were collected to refer the cost hikes to the ballot. The House on Monday passed Senate Bill 1599, which will move up the referendum to the May primary.

The state’s current budget, which is in place through June 2027, will be trimmed by $128 million under lawmakers’ new plan.

The reductions will come from vacancies and supply savings.

Kotek said she expected state expenditures to decrease by about 1 percent overall and did not anticipate “basic services” would be impacted.

“The 1 percent reductions and the $300 million will allow the state not to hurt services and it will allow us more importantly with the disconnect not to make any more reductions for K-12, universities and community colleges,” she said.

That $300 million could be in jeopardy. Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, a leader of the gas tax referendum effort, said he would work to refer the bill parts that disconnect from the federal tax code. The increased tax credits that would bring more money to Oregonians would not be referred, he said.

Lawmakers had planned to pay for those increased credits through savings from the disconnects.

“What I think Oregonians should understand is, if this makes it onto the ballot, it means cutting essential services for Oregonians,” Lieber said.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Statesman Journal and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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Architectural renderings of a proposed renovation of the Moda Center show sweeping concourses with views of the basketball court and improved lighting, but whether public officials can muster support for the $600 million price tag remains to be seen.

They’re certainly trying. State and local officials mounted a concerted campaign this week to press the case for funding upgrades for the arena, which the city of Portland acquired in 2024 and leased back to Rip City Management, the management company of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Without the renovation, local leaders fear the Trail Blazers will move to another city.

“Renovating the Moda Center isn’t about one building — it’s about Oregon‘s future,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in legislative testimony on Wednesday. “This project strengthens our economy, supports communities across the state and ensures Oregon remains competitive for major events and investment. With state partnership, it becomes a generational investment in jobs, culture and long-term economic relevance.”

Oregon lawmakers hope to raise a large chunk of the necessary amount with a tax on players and other employees around the Moda Center. A bill to create the fund and direct tax revenues to it was introduced in the state Senate on Monday. The legislation, Senate Bill 1501, would also allow the state’s Department of Administrative Services to take ownership in partnership with the city of Portland.

The city and Multnomah County are also discussing potential funding sources to remake the Moda Center. Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson called the Moda Center “a crucial economic engine for our state” in testimony given Wednesday. Gov. Tina Kotek also voiced support.

Despite growing criticism in some circles of taxpayer subsidies for sports teams, business leaders are largely united behind efforts to retain the Trail Blazers.

“It’s hard to understate the importance of the Trail Blazers to our community, especially at a time like this,” said Greg Goodman, co-president of Downtown Development Group, a major Portland real estate investment firm.

Portland can’t afford to lose the Blazers when the city’s economic recovery remains fragile, he said.

“Portland’s getting better, but we’ve obviously had some setbacks,” he said. “And losing the Blazers would be devastating to the pride of the community.”

Fears the Blazers could move have risen as Paul Allen’s estate, controlled by Jody Allen, prepares to relinquish ownership of the team to an investment group led by Tom Dundon, a Dallas businessman with few apparent ties to Oregon.

Sports team owners have not been shy about moving operations in search of better stadium deals. Major League Baseball‘s Athletics are in the process of moving from Sacramento to Las Vegas after jilting its longtime hometown of Oakland, California. The NFL‘s Raiders moved from Oakland to Los Angeles to Oakland to Las Vegas. Seattle still bears psychological wounds from the SuperSonics leaving for Oklahoma City. And even the Chicago Bears, one of the NFL’s oldest franchises, is considering leaving the city — the state of Iowa is dangling incentives in a long-shot bid for the team.

The Moda Center was completed in 1995 and originally named the Rose Garden. The arena supplanted Veterans Memorial Coliseum as the city’s premier sports and concert venue.

In addition to the Blazers, the Portland Fire will soon call Moda Center home as its inaugural WNBA season begins in May. The arena also hosts major concerts, including the Wu-Tang Clan, Cardi B and Pearl Jam in recent years. However, some artists such as Taylor Swift and Coldplay have bypassed Portland in favor of making tour stops in Seattle.

Officials hope the renovation can be completed by the time Moda Center hosts the 2030 NCAA Women’s Final Four. The arena generates an estimated $670 million in annual economic impact and nearly 4,500 jobs, according to a joint statement from state and local leaders.

It wasn’t immediately clear which architecture firm is designing the renovation. GBD Architects has designed past Moda Center upgrades, including new suites, concession areas and retail and concourse spaces. But a spokeswoman for the firm said GBD is not involved this time.

The renovation push comes as the 1803 Fund and Albina Vision Trust work to remake the neighborhood around the Moda Center. In December, the fund announced it had purchased two groups of properties, including grain silos between the arena and the Willamette River, for $70 million.

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Oregon lawmakers passed a key transportation funding bill this week, averting layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation and securing money for road maintenance before winter weather begins.

“Oregonians believe … that having safe, accessible roads is a core function of government,” Gov. Tina Kotek said at a press conference on Monday. “Our highways have to be open. People need to be able to get where they need to go.”

The legislation halts the threatened layoffs of hundreds of ODOT employees that were due to occur if the bill hadn’t passed. ODOT also canceled the closures of 12 maintenance stations around the state.

Overall, the package is expected to boost revenue by $791 million in 2025-27, and $889.9 million in 2027-29, according to a Legislative Revenue Office analysis.

“This funding is a significant investment, and we do not treat it lightly,” ODOT spokesman Kevin Glenn stated in an email on Wednesday. “ODOT will increase efficiency and, with this funding, continue to deliver for Oregonians.”

Republicans criticized the bill, which passed the Senate by an 18-11 margin, as a major tax increase on Oregon drivers. The legislation hikes the costs of several taxes and fees.

“Democrats chose the easy path: tax more, spend more and ignore the consequences,” Rep. Virgle Osborne, R-Roseburg, stated.

Passenger vehicle registration fees will nearly double from $43 annually to $85. Title fees will jump from $77 to $216.

Payroll taxes will double to 0.02 percent, effective Jan. 1. That’s expected to raise $196.6 million during the next biennium.

The bill also:

• directs the Secretary of State to conduct biennial audits of ODOT’s capital projects and use of state highway funds, and
• gives the governor, rather than the state Transportation Commission, the power to appoint and fire the ODOT director.

The legislation does not fund any of the state’s major capital projects such as the $2.1 billion Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, which faces a massive funding shortfall in part due to federal cuts.

“This package doesn’t solve all of the issues we see going forward, so we’re hopeful for more conversation leading to a comprehensive solution later,” said Kirsten Adams, lobbyist for the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

Transportation funding was delayed when legislators could not agree on a package during this year’s regular session that ended June 27. Kotek called a special session to begin on Aug. 29, but legislative action was delayed due to the lack of a quorum.

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By CLAIRE RUSH
Associated Press

Oregon could become the second U.S. state to require electric vehicle owners to enroll in a pay-per-mile program as lawmakers began a special session Friday to fill a $300 million transportation budget hole that threatens basic services like snowplowing and road repairs.

However, the special session got off to a rocky start: The state Senate met as scheduled at 9 a.m., but the state House failed to reach the two-thirds quorum required to conduct business, leaving the session in limbo as of late Friday afternoon.

Legislators failed earlier this year to approve a transportation funding package. Hundreds of state workers’ jobs are at risk, and the proposal for a road usage charge for EV drivers was left on the table.

Hawaii in 2023 was the first state to create a mandatory road usage charge program to make up for projected decreases in fuel tax revenue due to the growing number of electric, hybrid and fuel-efficient cars. Many other states have studied the concept, and Oregon, Utah and Virginia have voluntary programs.

The concept has promise as a long-term funding solution, experts say. Others worry about privacy concerns and discouraging people from buying EVs, which can help reduce transportation emissions.

“This is a pretty major change,” said Liz Farmer, an analyst for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ state fiscal policy team, noting “the challenge in enacting something that’s dramatically different for most drivers.”

Oregon’s transportation woes

Oregon’s transportation department says the budget shortfall stems from inflation, projected declines in gas tax revenue and other spending limits. Over the summer, it sent layoff notices to nearly 500 workers and announced plans to close a dozen road maintenance stations.

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek paused those moves and called the special session to find a solution. Republican lawmakers say the department mismanaging its money is a main issue.

Kotek’s proposal includes an EV road usage charge that is equivalent to 5 percent of the state’s gas tax. It also includes raising the gas tax by 6 cents to 46 cents per gallon, among other fee increases.

The usage charge would phase in starting in 2027 for certain EVs and expand to include hybrids in 2028. Should the gas tax increase be approved, EV drivers either would pay about 2.3 cents per mile, or choose an annual flat fee of $340. Drivers in the program wouldn’t have to pay supplemental registration fees.

Drivers would have several options for reporting mileage to private contractors, including a smartphone app or the vehicle’s telematics technology, said Scott Boardman, policy adviser for the transportation department who works on the state’s decade-old voluntary road usage charge program.

Republican lawmakers, who have opposed the tax and fee increases, unveiled a different proposal Friday that largely focuses on lifting funding restrictions to allow the transportation department to spend more money on maintenance operations, including by redirecting dollars earmarked for public transit and efforts to combat climate change toward such operations. It does not include a road usage charge.

As of May, there were over 84,000 EVs registered in Oregon, about 2 percent of the state’s total vehicles, he said.

Questions about privacy and fairness

In past surveys commissioned by Oregon’s transportation department, respondents cited privacy, GPS devices and data security as concerns about road usage charges.

Oregon’s voluntary program has sought to respond to such concerns by deleting mileage data 30 days after a payment is received, Boardman said. While plug-in GPS devices are an option in the program, transportation officials anticipate moving away from them because they’re more expensive and can be removed, he added.

Still, not everyone has embraced a road usage charge. Arizona voters will decide next year whether to ban state and local governments from implementing a tax or fee based on miles traveled after the measure was referred to the ballot by the Republican-majority Legislature.

Many people don’t realize that “both your vehicle and your cellphone capture immense amounts of data about your personal driving habits already,” said Brett Morgan, Oregon transportation policy director for the nonprofit Climate Solutions.

Morgan added that road usage charges exceeding what drivers of internal combustion engines would pay in gas taxes could dissuade people from buying electric and hybrid cars. Already, federal tax incentives for EVs are set to expire under the tax and spending cut bill recently passed by the GOP-controlled Congress.

“We are definitely supportive of a road usage charge that has EVs paying their fair share, but they should not be paying extra or a penalty,” Morgan said.

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The Oregon Legislature‘s upcoming special session focusing on transportation funding may deal a major setback for tolling in the state — except for the Interstate Bridge replacement project.

Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday called for repealing a 2017 law that provides the framework for tolling on interstates 5 and 205.

Key state lawmakers, including Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, have urged the repeal of the law as part of anticipated legislation to fund the Oregon Department of Transportation.

“There will be language in the bill to repeal ORS 383.150,” Kotek said in remarks to reporters, in reference to the 2017 tolling law.

Kotek acknowledged that the idea of tolling Oregon drivers had not shifted out of park.

“We are in a pause across the system on tolling, outside of the Interstate Bridge,” she said.

Kotek’s comments were part of a broader outline of plans for the special session set to begin Aug. 29. On Tuesday, the governor said she would invoke her authority to reconvene the Legislature for the session.

The effort comes after the Legislature failed to pass a transportation funding bill in the regular session that ended June 27.

Kotek said Wednesday that she wants to keep the special session tightly focused on funding ODOT’s regular operations. Funding for the state’s infrastructure mega-projects is not expected to come out of the special session, Kotek said

The governor urged action, saying it’s needed to avoid layoffs at ODOT. The agency has already notified 483 workers of impending layoffs without forthcoming funding. Additional layoffs would follow early in 2026.

“These dollars will cover the ODOT budget to provide basic services for Oregonians and prevent layoffs of workers that provide basic services to Oregonians,” Kotek said.

Kotek gave the broad framework of a transportation funding bill but did not say how much it would cost. Among the bill’s elements:

• The state’s gas tax would rise 6 cents, from 40 cents to 46 cents per gallon.

• A $30 electric vehicle fee would be implemented.

• Vehicle registration and title fees would also rise.

• The payroll tax to pay for transit would double from 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent. Kotek said the increase is necessary to keep rural transit systems alive.

• The governor would have greater ability to fire the ODOT director. A 2017 transportation bill gave the Oregon Transportation Commission more authority over ODOT’s executive.

Kotek said she wouldn’t dwell on the transportation bill’s failure during this year’s regular session. She added that Oregon should consider funding transportation more often, on an annual or biennial basis, rather than in bigger cycles.

While Clackamas County lawmakers and others are likely to welcome a major setback for tolling, an industry official questioned how Oregon will pay for its major infrastructure projects without those revenues.

“It’s concerning to move away from any tolling, especially when tolling was how those projects were going to pencil out,” said Kirsten Adams, a lobbyist for the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

Meek said it’s “great news” that Kotek will push to repeal the 2017 law. He added that he’d be open to tolling in the future to pay for the state’s mega-projects.

“I think there is room for tolling for the metro area to help pay for our mega-projects. I just want there to be a more open conversation about it,” he said.

Meek said he envisioned a London-style tolling area, where drivers would be tolled coming into the Portland-metro area from Hood River in the east, U.S. Route 26 from the Oregon Coast in the west, Interstate 5 near Aurora in the south and the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge (Interstate 205) at the Washington state border in the north.

Adams praised Kotek’s bid to seek greater accountability from ODOT leaders, and added that Oregon needs a better way of paying for mega-projects.

“We’re looking for a long-term funding solution for those bigger projects, knowing that’s important for the infrastructure in our state, the mobility in our state, and knowing they’re really expensive,” she said.

Kotek told journalists she has the votes to pass a transportation package, and that she is not concerned that a potential walkout by Republicans would deprive the Legislature of a quorum. Meek agreed.

“She would not have called this if she did not have a quorum and the votes to pass,” he said.

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Gov. Tina Kotek on Tuesday announced she will call legislators into a special session in August in the hopes of passing a transportation funding bill.

The Legislature adjourned June 27 without reaching an agreement on a transportation package. New legislation is needed to avert pending layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation, Kotek stated in a news release.

“I am confident that lawmakers will step up next month to avert these layoffs by approving the necessary funding for the state’s transportation needs,” Kotek said. “I appreciate their partnership and am eager to be on the other side of this crisis.”

Kotek said her priority is to deliver needed funding for the state highway trust fund for the 2025-27 biennium.

A funded ODOT budget will halt the pending layoffs and maintain operations at maintenance facilities that are otherwise scheduled to be shuttered, Kotek said. The agency began laying off 483 workers on July 7. But Kotek directed ODOT to postpone the effective date of the layoffs for an additional 45 days.

“The special session will be focused on critical near-term solutions to stabilize basic functions at ODOT and local governments,” Kotek said. “This is just the first step of many that must be taken to meet our state’s long-term transportation needs.”

More layoffs are planned for early 2026 unless the Legislature approves funding, she said.

Recently, a key holdout on the bill, Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, said he would be open to a special session, but that he wants Kotek to agree to repeal a state statute that authorizes tolls on interstates 5 and 205.

Notably, Kotek’s announcement did not address funding for any of Oregon’s mega-projects, such as the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project or the Interstate Bridge replacement and highway expansion project.

The Legislature will reconvene on Aug. 29.

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Oregon State Sen. Mark Meek said that he is open to Gov. Tina Kotek recalling the Legislature for a special session on transportation funding — if the governor agrees to repeal a tolling law.

“I’m open to that,” he said. “I told the governor, I committed that if the final package looks good, I’m happy to be there. But one of my requests is to repeal ORS 383.150.”

The tolling statute, on the books since 2017, directs the Oregon Transportation Commission to establish a toll program and assess potential tolls on interstates 5 and 205. Plans by the Oregon Department of Transportation to pay for roads and bridges with tolling has foundered amid political opposition and planning obstacles.

Meek’s comments, in a brief interview on Sunday, come amid speculation that Kotek will reconvene the Legislature in a special session to tackle transportation funding. The regular session ended June 27 in acrimony after a major transportation bill ran out of gas.

Kotek’s office did not specifically respond to Meek’s comments. “The governor is assessing next steps,” a spokesperson said Monday.

Meek said he’s been in discussions with Kotek and other state leaders since the session ended without a transportation funding package.

“I’ve had several communications with the governor and her staff, and we are working on a special session to try to keep our ODOT workers out in the field, maintain the roads for Oregonians and then also make sure that we can rebalance HCAS,” Meek said, referring to the state Highway Cost Allocation Study.

The biannual study, conducted most recently by ECONorthwest for the state Office of Economic Analysis, helps lawmakers determine how to spend transportation funds. It has played a role in the heated debate in Salem about who benefits from and who pays for transportation levies, including the gas tax, weight-mile tax and vehicle registration fees, and how that should be divided between the trucking industry and regular commuters.

Meek, D-Gladstone, has fought tolls in the Legislature. Meek’s Clackamas County constituents have been in an uproar over potential tolls on the Abernethy Bridge, the I-205 span connecting West Linn and Oregon City.

Meek said his constituents should not bear the brunt of Oregon’s tolling program. He said the tolling law is “so harmful and damaging to my community in Clackamas County.”

Meek called for “an honest discussion about what tolling looks like here in Oregon, or at least in my community.”

The bridge is undergoing a major project to strengthen it in case of an earthquake, and to widen the roadway to increase capacity. The project is expected to be complete next year.

The Legislature adjourned without passing House Bill 2025, a wide-ranging transportation funding bill. Meek was removed from the Joint Transportation Reinvestment Committee by Senate leaders after he said he would not support the bill.

Republicans and some Democrats were leery of the numerous revenue-raising provisions in the bill, including raising the 40-cent gas tax by 15 cents, indexing it to inflation, and hiking vehicle registration fees.

Supporters argued that the state must complete a series of major transportation projects, including the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter expansion, which would also create highway covers to repair the street grid in Portland’s Albina neighborhood, and fund regular road maintenance.

After lawmakers went home, ODOT laid off at least 483 workers and began canceling minor road projects around the state.

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