Gas tax swap bill delayed. Deadline nears. It may fail

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The vote to swap the gas tax referendum election from the November General election to the May Primary suffered a big defeat and is close to being dead — but not yet.

The bill came up for a vote in the Senate floor a few days earlier and was derailed by Senate Republican lawmakers walking off in protest.   Part of the protest is that the Republican Senators want to know what authority the Legislature has to change election dates for a referendum protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The bill came up again this Friday, and was delayed until Monday.

The Secretary of State has said that any election change to the May Primary must be a bill signed by the Governor by February 25th — this Wednesday.    The gas tax swap bill must be approved by the Senate and the House and then to the Governor’s desk by that day.   It is recklessly close to that very deadline.