House passes moving gas tax vote to May
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The Oregon House of Representatives voted 31 to 20 to move a vote on the gas tax to the May primary ballot instead of the November general election. The more than 250,000 people who signed petitions supporting the vote had specified it would be on the ballot for the more heavily-attended November vote.
Five Democrats joined Republican representatives in opposing the measure. Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner) was not present for the vote. He left the floor and was counted as one of eight representatives with unexcused absences.
Rep. Bobby Levy (R-Echo) and Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane) joined other Republicans in speaking against Senate Bill 1599. Smith addressed his absence on his Facebook page. He said he refused to be a part of the process that “undermines Oregon voters.”
Levy’s address on the floor of the House is run in full at the end of this story.
Gov. Tina Kotek then signed the bill into law. It remains unclear if there is enough time remaining to allow the ballot measures supporters to gather response for the voter pamphlet. Secretary of State Tobias Read had stated that the bill would need to be signed into law by Feb. 25. Meanwhile at least one supporter of the ballot measure has stated she will go to court to get an injunction against the bill appearing on the May ballot.
Speech by Rep. Bobby Levy:
Madam Speaker, to the bill: Colleagues, I rise today in staunch opposition to Senate Bill 1599.
Not because I believe that this referendum will fail in a primary election—but because I am so tired of watching the powers at be bend the rules—and get away with it. I stand here today on behalf of every one of my constituents who demands accountability, who expect contractual obligations to be fulfilled as promised, and to remind the members of this body—our actions matter speak much louder than the words we say on this floor or the way we spin the narrative afterwards. Today, Oregonians are watching.
So let me get into it. During the 2025 First Special Session, this Legislature passed HB 3991. It was a $4.3 billion, 10-year transportation package.
It increased the gas tax by six cents per gallon.
It nearly doubled vehicle registration fees.
It significantly increased title fees.
It doubled the payroll tax for transit.
It phased in a mandatory per-mile road usage charge for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Supporters argued it was necessary to close a $242 million ODOT shortfall and stabilize infrastructure funding.
Opponents argued it imposed substantial new burdens on families and small businesses.
Regardless of where any of us stood on HB 3991, one thing is beyond dispute: Oregonians overwhelmingly exercised their constitutional referendum right to vote on aspects of this package in November.
SB 1599 now proposes to move that vote from the November general election to the May primary.
The timing change is not purely administrative, it’s not even technical. It is, however, consequential.
The difference between a May primary and a November general election is massive. General elections produce the highest voter turnout in our state, with almost 75% of voters turning in their ballots. Primary elections produce significantly lower turnout, with a difference of almost 40 percentage points.
In theory, every legislator in this chamber should value voter turnout. Should value their constituents showing up to vote. And when we’re talking about deciding on a tax that generates $4.3 Billion over 10-years—we should be making this decision with as many Oregon voters as possible.
Because everyone deserves a voice at the table and a say in the matter.
But when you narrow the electorate on a matter of this magnitude, this body damages trust in the system. This body erodes the trust of the people we are here to represent. It does extreme and lasting damage to our statutory system. And even more than that, it does damage to the foundations we have used to build our constitution.
And what do we have if we don’t have the trust of our constituents?
Proponents of SB 1599 will argue that this bill is completely legal, that we have a precedent of changing referendum election dates. But I’m here to once again speak for the regular, hard-working Oregonian. It does not matter if this bill is legal. What matters is the distrust you are sewing into the fabric of our legislative process. Public trust in this process does not hinge on the legality of a bill. Instead, public trust in the work we do in this building hinges on clear and transparent guidelines, rules that do not bend to the majority party, and robust public engagement.
SB 1599 signals to the voters that the rules can be changed after the people have already exercised their constitutional referendum rights. Oregonians gathered signatures, qualified the measure, and secured a November vote under the established electoral framework. Moving that vote to a lower-turnout election sends a clear and troubling message: that when the outcome is uncertain, the calendar can be adjusted. Even if legally permissible. It is manipulative.
And the powers at be seem perfectly fine with manipulation, coercion, and bullying—as long as it fits their political agenda.
Meanwhile, Public confidence in government does not erode only through blatant corruption; it erodes when process feels engineered. At a moment when institutional credibility is already fragile, altering the timing of a qualified referendum undermines the principle that the people, not strategic maneuvering, have the final, fair say.
We do not move the goalposts. We do not rewrite the calendar because the outcome makes us nervous. That is not leadership — it is manipulation. If we care about democracy, we let the people vote in November. Anything less looks like fear of the electorate.
If we pass this through the House today, we are flat out telling Oregonians that their constitutional rights are conditional. Conditional on whether we like the timing, conditional on whether we like the odds. If we believe in the strength of this policy, we should be willing to defend it before the largest, most representative electorate in November. Let it stand on its own if there is the highest confidence that this policy is sound and congruent with what the people of Oregon want.
But this is about more than just this bill. This is about trust.
Today it’s a transportation referendum, two weeks ago it was about a committee vote. Tomorrow, it could be anything.
When majorities begin changing the rules, it creates precedent. Precedent that may be used to exploit, regardless of party. And there is a very real danger that comes with extensive single-party rule without interruption. And power? Power is the life-source of corruption. Power has a way of dulling memory. Because when you have the votes, it becomes very easy to forget what it felt like when you didn’t.
So as we sit here today in our ivory tower, let me remind you of this: Rules and protections of this process, of our system must be maintained—because unrestrained power will destroy this state.
The rules in this building were not designed as tools to be picked up when convenient and thrown aside when inconvenient. They exist to discipline power. They slow us down ON PURPOSE. They limit us ON PURPOSE. Their very PURPOSE is to restrain. I believe that the strength of this institution is measured not by how effectively the majority can wield power but rather by how faithfully it restrains itself. Rules restrain us precisely and directly when restraint is hardest. And this is the true test of institutional integrity.
Again, people may disagree with outcomes, however, we must believe the rules are neutral.
And lately, it doesn’t feel like the rules are all that neutral.
So today, as I stand here, I’m urging the proponents of SB 1599—for the first time throughout this entire transportation fiasco—listen to Oregonians.
Oregonians told you last session that this package missed the mark. They told you during the special session that this package was too much. They told you to go back to the drawing board when they signed the referendum. And they’re telling us today not to pass SB 1599.
It’s time the members of this chamber do their job and listen to the Oregonians who put us in these seats in the first place.
And if you choose not listen today, my only question is: who are you really accountable to? Because it’s clearly not voting Oregonians.
Colleagues, this moment is bigger than a calendar change. It is about whether we respect the constitutional process when it becomes inconvenient. It is about whether we trust the full electorate enough to let them decide in November. And it is about whether we trust the rules of this institution as restraints on power or as tools to shape outcomes.
Even if legal, SB 1599 conveys that the rules can bend.
And that perception? That’s poison to any democracy.
Institutions do not lose credibility in dramatic moments; they lose it in incremental ones, when process begins to appear strategic rather than neutral.
Colleagues, for the sake of Oregon—do the right thing. Vote NO vote on SB 1599.
