Signature gathering for Oregon gas tax referendum could begin by end of week

Gov. Tina Kotek on Friday signed Oregon’s long-awaited transportation bill into law, setting the stage for opponents to begin collecting signatures for a referendum effort to overturn it. 

After Democrats in the Oregon Legislature secured enough votes to pass the transportation bill in a special session that ended in late September, Kotek had 30 working days, or until Nov. 12, to sign it into law. By using almost all 30 days to sign it, Republican opponents have less time to gather the signatures to qualify for a referendum on the November 2026 ballot. If they are successful at gathering enough signatures, a referendum would give Oregon voters the opportunity to reject or approve the new law. 

State Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee and Taxpayer Association of Oregon Director Jason Williams — the chief petitioners behind the “No Tax Oregon” referendum effort — submitted paperwork to the Oregon Secretary of State Monday morning to begin collecting signatures. The secretary must review and approve the referendum forms before they can officially start.

“We feel pretty confident that by the end of this week, we will be good to go,” Diehl told the Capital Chronicle.

Petitioners have 90 calendar days from the Legislature’s adjournment to gather 78,116 signatures, which was 4% of the total ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. This means they have until Dec. 30 to submit all the signatures. 

The transportation law is expected to raise about $4.3 billion over the next 10 years for road maintenance and operations by: 

• Raising the gas tax by six cents.
• Increasing annual registration fees from $43 to $85 for passenger vehicles; $63 to $105 for utility vehicles, light trailers, low-speed vehicles and medium-speed electric vehicles; and $44 to $86 for mopeds and motorcycles, beginning Dec. 31.
• Increasing title fees for passenger vehicles from $77 to $216, beginning Dec. 31.
• Doubling the payroll tax used to fund public transit from 0.1% to 0.2% of a paycheck until January 2028. For the average Oregonian making $68,000 a year, that means paying $136 a year for this tax, or $11.20 a month.

The referendum effort seeks to reject those four components of the law.

Kotek said she is grateful to the broad coalition of cities, counties, transportation workers, truckers and the American Automobile Association for supporting the legislation. 

“This bill will help us keep state highways and local roads safe and open to traffic while preserving transit service and halting the pending layoffs of essential transportation staff,” Kotek said in a statement. 

Starr criticized Kotek for taking a month to sign the transportation funding bill, saying she used a delay tactic that undermines public trust.

Governor delay in signing transportation bill limits GOP time for referendum, experts say

“At every turn, (Kotek) chose to protect a broken status quo that raises costs on struggling families while failing to fix the structural problems that created this crisis,” Starr said in a statement. ”But Oregonians will not be silenced, and their voices will not be ignored. They will have the opportunity to weigh in, hold their leaders accountable and demand a transportation system that works for the people who pay for it.”

The chief petitioners formed a political committee for the referendum on Oct. 2, but on Nov. 4 discontinued the committee because it was filed incorrectly and risked facing penalties, Oregon Secretary of State spokesperson Tess Seger said. Diehl said he and the chief petitioners are reforming the committee.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE