250,000 Oregonians sign petition to send transportation bill to voters, backers say

A Republican-led effort to refer a road funding bill to Oregon voters has gathered more than 250,000 signatures.

Petitioners announced the latest total on Monday for the referendum, which seeks to stop the legislation and its proposed tax and fee increases by letting voters have their say.

“Oregonians from every corner of the state spent their holiday season gathering signatures,” Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr, a chief petitioner, said in a news release. “Because of their hard work, the will of Oregon voters will not be ignored.”

The group already submitted nearly 194,000 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State on Dec. 12. They needed more than 78,000 signatures to qualify for the November 2026 ballot.

The bill proposes new taxes and fees to fund the transportation agencies that work on Oregon’s aging roads and bridges. Among other things, the bill would increase the state’s 40-cent-per-gallon gas tax by 6 cents and temporarily double a payroll tax that funds public transit.

Facing budget gaps, agencies like the Oregon Department of Transportation have warned that mass layoffs will occur without a new funding source. Gov. Tina Kotek signed the bill in November after Oregon Democrats, who hold supermajority power in the state Legislature, passed it in a special session.

Since then, petitioners have fanned out throughout Oregon, gathering signatures to place it on the ballot. The referendum has prolonged a partisan feud over the bill and how best to fund road upkeep.

“The people of Oregon have spoken loud and clear,” state Rep. Ed Diehl said in a news release. “They expect ODOT to be accountable for the money it already has, and they expect road safety and maintenance to be the highest priority — not an afterthought.”

Lawmakers are poised to take up the bill in the upcoming short legislative session, which begins in February.