Contributed by: Mary Stern, AOC Community & Economic Development and Transportation Policy Manager

May 9, 2016

 

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! The race for 2017 Transportation Package is underway!

On April 27, 2016, Senate President Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek announced the creation of the Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and Modernization (Joint Committee). Sen. Lee Beyer  and Rep. Caddy McKeown will serve as co-chairs.  Sen. Brian Boquist and Rep. Cliff Bentz will serve as co-vice chairs. Also appointed to the Joint Committee are Sen. Chris Edwards, Sen. Fred Girod, Sen. Betsy Johnson, Sen. Rod Monroe, Sen. Jackie Winters, Rep. John Lively, Rep. Susan McLain, Rep. Andy Olson, Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, and Rep. Greg Smith.

On May 4, Governor Kate Brown convened a meeting of lawmakers, business leaders, and stakeholders to discuss a transportation package.  The Governor expressed her commitment to developing and presenting a transportation package in collaboration with the Legislature and stakeholders.  In addition to preservation of the transportation system, Governor Brown stated the priorities of the package must be congestion relief, transit in all areas of the state, and seismic upgrades.  These were recurring topics raised in forums held by the Governor’s Transportation Vision Panel (GTVP).

President Courtney and Speaker Kotek also expressed their commitment to passing a package in the 2017 session with the help of the Joint Committee, which will hold its first meeting on May 25 at 5:15 p.m. at the Capitol.  The Joint Committee is expected to then hold approximately 12 meetings around the state in conjunction with the Oregon Transportation Commission. The dual purpose of these meetings is to get the public to understand the need for a significant transportation investment and to hear about transportation related issues in communities around the state. The Committee expects to complete its tour by the start of Legislative Days in September.  It will then work to develop a transportation package.

Other issues discussed at the meeting were the need to:

  • Think long term and large;
  • Seek alternative revenue sources;
  • Take advantage of federal funding;
  • Focus on freight mobility and the benefits of relieving congestion and improving air quality;
  • Include innovative ideas such as congestion pricing and HOV lanes for trucks;
  • Use technology; and
  • Reframe the discussion to “continuous systems improvements” to include indexing.

The Governor, legislative leadership, and the attendees were reminded by AOC and LOC staff that the largest need was system preservation, which is often hard to describe and “sell” to citizens.  We pledged to provide information regarding systems’ needs and benefits of a package to the Joint Committee to assist them in their work.

You will be kept informed of Joint Committee meetings in your area as soon as the schedule is released (hopefully, by the May 13).  Your AOC and County Road Program staff will be working with you and your road department staffs to develop critical information for you to share with the Joint Committee.

Stay tuned!

For more information, please contact Mary Stern, 503-474-7567.