Message from AEEPAC on HB2025

Hello AEE PAC Members,

Some movement occurred today in the legislature on bills relating to ODOT. If you haven't been following here are the clif notes:

HB2025: This is the reinvestment package that you've heard much about from agency leadership.

Brief Overview:
This imposes new funding mechanisms like the road usage charge and increases to fuel taxes, registration fees and the payroll transit tax. It sets aside funding for Great Streets; Safe Routes to School; major projects like Rose Quarter, Abernethy Bridge, Newberg-Dundee and others; and a portion of the money goes to ODOT and pays for operations, maintenance and some staff costs.

Full details:
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2025

Passage of HB2025 is not assured.

Separately, SB5541 provides an infusion of funds from the general fund, sets limits for department spending from all sources for a litany of categories from capital investments, to maintenance to wildlife corridors and administrative services. This bill assumes HB205 will pass.

Full details:
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB5541

In the case that HB2025 fails, analysis has been completed to estimate the impact to ODOT under package 70. That projects position losses of:

  • 371 from Project Delivery and Suppor

  • 414 from Maintenance

  • 17 from Local Government Support

  • 14 from DMV

  • 7 from Commerce and Compliance

  • 154 from ODOT Administrative Services

Various other packages show restoration of many of those positions, which is how the math works out for a net loss of 121 positions, expected to be primarily from currently vacant positions and a smaller number of reassigned roles. But, again, this relies on HB 2025 to fund those restoration packages.

Analysis:
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/309473

What you can do:
Contact your representatives and senators and ask those in your life to do the same. The HB2025 votes have largely been along party lines, so voicing your opinions to all republicans and democrats not on the Transportation Reinvestment committee are most likely to make an impact.

Find your legislator:
https://geo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=fd070b56c975456ea2a25f7e3f4289d1

Suggested points to discuss:

  • Work we do that Oregonians count on

  • While expensive, the tax increases do not exceed the tax rate of other western states

  • Repairing neglected infrastructure is more costly than maintaining what we have

  • A significant wealth of experience and institutional knowledge will be lost with position reductions and it may not be able to be regained

  • No legislation is universally supported or perfect, but the bill as proposed brings us inline with other states, provides revenues for ODOT to deliver good work and is already a reasonable compromise between fully funding of all transportation modes and alternate proposals which reduced funding from any multimodal use

-In Unity AEE PAC

AEE Oregon