SALEM, Ore. – Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham (R-The Dalles) issued the following statement after Representative John Lively (D-Springfield) acknowledged that Democrats’ billion-dollar-per-year transportation tax package would likely fail if put to Oregon voters:
“We appreciate the honesty from Representative Lively. It shows even Democrats understand that Oregonians are concerned about the size of this tax hike and its impact on their budgets.
House Bill 2025 would impose more than a billion dollars a year in new taxes and fees that will hit working families and rural communities the hardest. You don’t fix a broken agency by throwing more money at it—and you certainly don’t do it by taking more from Oregonians who are already struggling to afford gas, groceries, and housing.
Senate Republicans will continue standing with working families against HB 2025 and pushing for a better, more responsible path forward.”
House Bill 2025 proposes at least $1 billion per year in new and increased taxes and fees on everything from fuel to paychecks to car sales. Republicans have introduced an alternative plan, House Bill 3982, that would refocus ODOT on its core mission of maintaining roads and bridges without raising taxes. It has yet to be referred to a committee by the Speaker of the House.
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