Transportation Update – Week of June 23

AOC, along with other lobbyists and legislators, have been waiting this week for release of the -4 amendments to House Bill (HB) 2017, the transportation bill.

As of Thursday (6/22) the -4 amendments have not been released.

On Tuesday, we began to hear about discussions that were taking place to bring down the cost of the package to deal with concerns of the truckers, AAA, auto dealers and fuel suppliers. On Wednesday, a proposal surfaced that resulted from discussions with the Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and Modernization (JCTMP) chairs and vice-chairs, the Governor’s office and the four lobby groups.

The proposal shortens the life of the program to end in 2024. Fuel tax from 2018-2024 increases 4-1-2-1-2-1-1. Registration fee increases are $15 in 2018 and $5 in 2020. Title fee increases $12 in 2018 and $12 in 2020. The ability for Congestion Relief Districts to implement gas tax or registration fee increases as outlined in the -3 amendments are gone. This will change the time line for congestion relief projects.

The payroll tax to fund transit, and a privilege tax on adult bikes at three percent are still in place.

This proposal is currently being drafted. It will be the -10 amendment. Topics of amendments five -9 include clean fuels and the contracting bill (HB 3203).

Still under discussion for the -10 amendments is maintaining a new vehicle privilege tax at .5 percent, to provide electric vehicle rebates, help fund Connect Oregon, and potentially help pay for congestion mitigation.

Also, still unclear is the fate of the earmarked projects in the -3 amendments, and the impact on the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) maintenance and preservation funds, as that was the source of funding in the -3 amendments. We have received confirmation that earmarks will continue to come out of ODOT’s share and not off the top.

For counties, there is a small decrease in maintenance and preservation funding from the -3 proposal, because of the decrease in gas tax, registration and title fees in the new proposal. The high road mile/low registration provision is still included, as are the accountability measures. The 50/30/20 split is maintained.

Attached are two additional ODOT Transportation Planner spreadsheets. These do not contain all parts of the new proposal but are useful to gauge the funding over time to counties.

There are two scenarios:

1.) No bonding – just the raw numbers to see where maintenance and preservation is without project costs.

2.) $1 billion in total bond proceeds to pay for projects statewide. This assumes a reduced project list for the big three if we want to deliver projects outside of the Portland area.

Sheet one shows revenues, sheet two shows expenditures as well as net distributions after all the choices are made. The visual summary and distribution sheets will also be useful.

As always, let us know if you have questions or need more information.

Transportation Revenue Planner – Truckers No Bonding
Transportation Revenue Planner – Truckers 1B Bonding

Contributed by: Mike Eliason & Susan Morgan | AOC Transportation Policy Team

2017-06-26T18:27:13-07:00June 23rd, 2017|Categories: Transportation|
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