Today, Governor Tina Kotek addressed the Oregon Transportation Forum at its annual meeting, outlining next steps for Oregon’s transportation system and urging immediate, sequential actions to stabilize core services provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and plan for future needed investments. She characterized the necessary actions as “redirect, repeal, and rebuild.” View the Governor’s full remarks here.
“The decisions we make in the coming weeks will determine whether Oregon’s transportation system continues to decline or whether we can restore certainty in needed essential services that Oregonians rely on,” Governor Kotek said. “These decisions won’t be easy. There will be tradeoffs and consequences. Hundreds of people will be laid off this spring if we are not successful. Giving up is not an option.”
The Governor urged lawmakers to redirect existing transportation funding to core operations and maintenance during the February session. Emergency action is needed to prevent layoffs being planned for the spring thereby preserving basic services and reducing vulnerability to severe weather and infrastructure failures. Nearly all transportation programs must be considered for reallocation because the overall budget deficit facing the state will prohibit general fund dollars being directed to solve the projected $242 million ODOT budget gap.
The Governor also called for the repeal of House Bill 3991 that was passed in the September special session. The law’s revenue provisions are currently frozen following a referral to the November ballot with the recent certification by the Secretary of State of signatures collected after the passage of the bill last year. Leaving the law in place would require ODOT to absorb implementation costs without new resources, thus prolonging uncertainty for communities and the transportation agency and further delaying progress toward a durable solution.
Finally, the Governor committed to leading a bipartisan process to develop a comprehensive transportation funding and investment package for the 2027 legislative session, bringing together stakeholders, elected leaders, and technical experts to align multimodal transportation investment with economic development, workforce needs, and long-term safety goals.
###
