Opponents of a recently passed transportation bill say they have enough signatures to refer the package and its related gas tax increase to Oregon voters.
The initiative to send the bill to voters in the November 2026 election has gathered more than 150,000 signatures, according to estimates from its chief petitioners.
Those signatures have yet to be verified by the Oregon Secretary of State. But the total far exceeds the 78,116 they need by Dec. 30 to qualify for the ballot.
“We stand with Oregonians who want the opportunity to vote on the Governor’s gas tax increase,” said Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr. “Oregonians want state government to prioritize tax dollars, not just always ask for more.”
The transportation bill, Democrats’ top legislative priority this year, was an effort to generate enough money to upgrade Oregon’s aging roads and fill financial gaps at transportation agencies. Gov. Tina Kotek signed the bill earlier this month, concluding a year-long saga that saw extensive political wrangling and nearly resulted in hundreds of state road workers losing their jobs.
The bill increases the state’s 40-cent-per-gallon gas tax by 6 cents, hikes vehicle registration and titling fees, and temporarily doubles a payroll tax that funds public transit. Backers of the bill view those cost increases as essential.
“Oregonians know that plowing snowed-in roads, filling potholes, and securing evacuation routes when a fire breaks out aren’t nice-to-haves; they are must-haves,” Kotek said in a statement Monday. “That’s what the emergency transportation package delivers. The proponents of the petition to refer the law to voters don’t have a workable backup plan for making sure Oregonians have these basic services.”
The bill hit Kotek’s desk in early October, but wasn’t signed until Nov. 7. Republicans accused the governor of purposely delaying her signature to give opponents less time to collect signatures for a potential ballot fight. State Rep. Ed Diehl, a chief petitioner, said he believes Kotek’s actions have increased the campaign’s momentum.
“People are really outraged by that,” said Diehl, R-Scio. “They are pissed off. And that is one of the things that is motivating people to sign.”
The No Tax Oregon campaign took signatures at 155 locations across the state Monday, Diehl said. On Tuesday, at Bison Coffeehouse in Northeast Portland, store owner Loretta Guzman clutched a clipboard with a stack of petition paper. She said she collected more than 200 signatures over the past week.
“We want to have a say so instead of our gas tax just being raised again,” Guzman said. “They just keep charging us and charging us, and how much more can we take?”
Customers and longtime Portland residents Veronica Gallegos-Lozano and Gian Lozano said they came to sign the petition because they are concerned that additional taxes will make the state unaffordable. They have lost trust in the state’s ability to effectively manage taxpayer dollars.
“Given the inflation, given all the extra costs, it makes absolutely no sense,” Lozano said.
As Kotek weighs her reelection bid, her opponents are zeroing in on the transportation bill’s tax increases, saying Oregonians can’t afford them as families face increased costs for rent, utilities, groceries and health care.
Among them is one of Kotek’s political rivals, Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan, who is once again running for governor. She lost the 2022 governor’s race by less than 4%.
“I am tired of hearing Tina Kotek talk about how much she cares about affordability, when the actual actions that she takes as governor go the other direction every single time,” Drazan said during a recent interview with KGW. “Oregonians deserve to vote on this thing and they are coming out in droves to sign these petitions and it’s going to be on the ballot and I think that that’s the right thing to happen.”
The Democratic party nationwide has focused on affordability after winning key governor’s races and the New York City mayor’s race largely through that message earlier this month. Oregon Democrats have honed in on a similar message in recent years. But the state Republican Party is blaming the majority party for the rising cost of living in Oregon and mismanaging taxpayer money.
Sarah Iannarone, executive director of the public transit advocacy nonprofit The Street Trust, said the effort to send the transportation package to voters “doesn’t protect struggling households, it leaves them stranded – threatening transit for seniors, making it harder for kids to get to school safely, and blocking basic services like plowing roads and filling potholes.”
The legislation that ultimately passed was not the comprehensive funding bill that fizzled out at the end of this year’s legislative session. For example, it includes no new funding for major road and bridge projects that have grown increasingly expensive in recent years.
Iannarone is urging lawmakers to “finish the job and pass a complete transportation package so stunts like this can’t hijack Oregon’s future.”
The campaign to refer the bill to voters has so far raised nearly $156,000, according to the Oregon Secretary of State. Among the biggest donors are groups that advocate for convenience stores, timber jobs and lower taxes.