Oregon lawmakers have until June 29 to finish legislative business and adjourn the 2025 regular session. Democrats and Republicans have taken up issues related to housing, taxes, transportation and much more. But the only thing they are actually constitutionally obligated to do before they leave the Capitol is pass a biennial budget.
“Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller spoke with House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, to get her thoughts on progress toward that end.
Here are excerpts from that conversation, edited for clarity and length.
What are the outstanding budget issues Drazan is most focused on right now?
“I want the budget to narrow its focus to core function and core mission. It’s a lot of conversation about new taxes, and I feel really strongly that Oregonians would want their government to be really kind of a lean, mean machine. And to do our work well and efficiently and not to waste dollars. And I think that we have this opportunity once every two years to go through these budgets with a fine-tooth comb. Are we spending dollars mindlessly, you know, kind of casually? Or are we really evaluating whether every resource we have is being put to its highest and best use? And I would say that’s not always the case.
“The Oregon Department of Transportation identified for us, House and Senate Republicans, where they are engaging in work that they view is not core to their mission. And they identified for us areas where they could reduce spending and capture vacancies where people haven’t been in that job for a year, and they’re just holding it in their budget. Most of those opportunities were declined by the majority party and they instead pivoted to a really lengthy list of new taxes.
“I think [Oregonians] are going to pay more, probably get less, and from my perspective, that’s never OK.”
How will Republicans move forward on the transportation package to fund a range of infrastructure from highway projects to public transit with a variety of tax increases and fees?
“Unfortunately, that puts us in the position of opposing the bill. And the reason for that is that I have been told that the Democrats are not going to accept substantive amendments on this legislation. So what was released, based on my understanding, is what we will see come to the floor. And so for Oregonians, that means your car title fees: Right now they’re around $77 I think. This bill moves into $182. You have a payroll tax right now and this will triple it. We have a used car tax that we don’t even have now. You’re going to have a used car sales tax.
“It’s not just a gas tax. Your driver’s license test is going to go from $45 to $111. And so for those, you know, 15, 16-year-olds out there that are looking at their after-school job, being able to cover the cost of them getting their license, they’re going to have to work a little longer to get that pulled off.
“It’s an aggressive tax plan, and this is the one we are going to see come to the chamber floor.”
Are there specific transportation amendments that could garner Democratic support?
“I do think that there is support for efficiencies, and there is, I believe, support for restructuring how they do accountability in the agency [ODOT] … I don’t think that [Democrats] are opposed to accountability. I don’t think that they’re opposed to efficiencies.
“I think the difference is, on our side of the aisle, we believe that they should show that they can be accountable before we pass these taxes for a billion dollars or more a year.
“And this is an agency that has failed to produce, failed to actually build these roads. It’s been eight years now, and these projects are not done.
“Abernathy Bridge, which I’m sure you’re familiar with, a couple hundred million, and now we know that project isn’t even going to be completed, and the price tag is over $800 million. That’s unacceptable, completely unacceptable.
“But structurally, when you talk efficiency, you end up getting in the weeds. And accountability, sometimes you end up getting in the weeds. And we believe that some of those proposals should advance. I think that some of the highway cost allocation might be included in their proposal. That’s encouraging. That’s a purple category where we can agree on that. But when you’re raising a billion dollars for an agency that has failed to perform for the last eight years, we just don’t have a stomach for it. We don’t think it’s the right thing to do. And we don’t believe that bigger budgets produce better outcomes for Oregonians right now with this particular agency.”
On what she views as the most important theme of the 2025 session
“Cost increases. The shift from your income taxes that everybody pays to fees for everything that you do is really going to be the other thematic part of this session — where the largest portion of the budget is going to be fees, what they call ‘other funds,’ the day-to-day stuff.
“Where living here costs more to go to a park, to drive your car. If you own a business, your license fees are going to go up to maintain your professional licenses -- all those kinds of things are how the costs are going to drive this session. And that’s another thematic part of the session.”
What lawmakers failed to do
“We really did miss an opportunity to address in a coordinated way next steps on repeal of Measure 110. This session is going to potentially miss an opportunity to address homelessness in a cohesive way. We had an opportunity to repeal the measure that legalized camping in public spaces this year, now that the Supreme Court has acted, and we – and they – didn’t take advantage of that opportunity. We had an opportunity this session to continue to support kids that are facing addiction, and we were not fully addressing that challenge.
“We are going to see an issue around the Oregon State Hospital. We were recently found to be in contempt to the federal court, and hopefully that will drive that issue to come to a conclusion faster. What do we do with people that can’t aid in their own defense? That’s been a challenge for the state for years and years and years. We don’t have enough beds at the Oregon State Hospital, and we don’t even have beds there for civil commitment.
“There’s no quick fix for that, but there is the possibility that something could come out of this legislative session that could be positive on that front. I’m sort of waiting to see how those negotiations conclude, but that’s a possibility of something that’s that’s positive for our state, certainly positive for the people that are that are in distress and need to be stabilized.”
On the possibility of a Republican walkout
“So I’ve always viewed the walkout as an expression of just the last resort, because it means that communications have broken down, negotiations have broken down. It means that the supermajorities are just running roughshod over Oregonians. So I take very seriously conversations around walkouts. I have led a walkout, and I absolutely believe that we had to do what we did at that time. This session, I believe that this tax bill is going to be oppressive to Oregonians, and I absolutely would support making sure that that measure could be referred to Oregonians should they pass it. So from my perspective, that would be a way to avoid a walkout, would be to have a conversation about letting Oregonians decide if they can afford this approach at this price point.
“And certainly gun bills, session after session after session, we have measures come through this chamber that are not oriented toward data-driven best practices for what reduces gun violence in communities. And instead it ends up just being more restrictions on law abiding gun owners. That is a huge deal for us because we certainly support and defend access to people’s Second Amendment rights.
“And so, those big issues that affect the vast majority of Oregonians deserve to be heard, and the approach from the supermajority needs to be responsive to both sides of the aisle, not just their own side of the aisle. So I would hope that we can continue to be at the table and that these issues could be negotiated, that we could come to a place where the minority is heard. And I will continue to show up and extend a hand in that work.
“So a walkout is always a possibility, but it really is dependent on whether or not the supermajority recognizes the essential role that the minority voice has over the course of these next few weeks in moderating power, in moderating the power that exists in the hands of a few and restraining themselves to accommodate the concerns of those from across this entire state.”
House Minority Leader Christine Drazan spoke with “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller.