Oregon Legislature special session moves forward
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The special session to address emergency funding for the Oregon Department of Transportation almost stalled at the beginning. It was set to begin on Friday and some optimists believed it could end that day as well.
Nothing happened on Friday. The Oregon House of Representatives could not gather a quorum to vote on the package. The Republican minority held strong against any new taxes, while the Democrats held fast with the increases proposed by Gov. Tina Kotek.
The Joint Committee on Transportation Funding finally approved the two measures on Sunday. It was then passed on to the House, which approved it as well.
The amended legislation saw a limit to the number of years an increase in the tax deduction for public transit would occur. Kotek wanted it extended indefinitely. The Democrat majority gave ground to Republicans, ending the increase after two years. That lowers the proposed funding for ODOT from $5.8 billion to $4.3 billion, with the entire reduction coming from public transit.
The Oregon Senate is now considering the bills. It held a first reading Monday, and is expected to have a second reading today. A third reading and vote could either come today or Wednesday.
