Kotek again leaves lawmakers out of the debate — road $$ part 2

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Oregonian headline screamed, “Oregon lawmakers left out as Gov. Tina Kotek forms new transportation advisory group.”

Last year at this time, Governor Kotek and select leaders ignored the plan by Republican lawmakers to balance the ODOT budget without new taxes. They instead created a shoddy gas tax package that could not even muster enough votes to pass. The session ended that summer with no package.

So Governor Tina Kotek called a special session for Labor Day weekend to rush through another gas tax idea. Again, she left bipartisan ideas out in the cold. That $4.3 billion gas tax passed, which resulted in a historic gas tax referendum petition (chief petitioners were Senator Bruce Starr, Rep. Ed Diehl, and Jason Williams of the Taxpayers Association), which collected a quarter million in under two months.

Now, Kotke is trying to come up with a third transportation funding plan. Yet again, she is leaving the Republican lawmakers who have their own helpful ideas.

House Republican Leader Lucetta Elmer was quoted, “I wasn’t surprised she brought forward a group that doesn’t include us.” I think this is setting itself up to be something of a spectacle.” Read more in the article.