April 4, 2025 4:00 a.m.

On Thursday, House Republicans released a statement in response to House and Senate Democrat’s draft proposal to make Oregonians pay billions more in taxes for what the GOP believes are the failures of the Oregon Department of Transportation.

House Republican Leader Christian Drazan said, “The Democrats tone-deaf proposal throws more money at a system that has repeatedly failed to recognize that its core mission is to provide safe and reliable roads and bridges”. Drazan said, “A dozen new taxes and fees is a slap in the face to all Oregonians that simply can’t afford to pay more for less”.

Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation Representative Shelly Boshart-Davis said, “Since the beginning of this session, House Republicans have pressed ODOT on budgeting errors, incomplete projects, and mishandling of tax dollars”. Boshart-Davis said, “It’s shocking that in spite of Oregonians resounding rejection of the tire tax proposal, Democrats are doubling down on this tax at a time when families are already struggling to make ends meet”.

A release said a recent poll commissioned by House Republicans found that 80 percent of Oregonians oppose increasing the Gas Tax while 79 percent favor cutting taxes to make Oregon more affordable. The same poll showed that Oregonians see the cost of living as the top issue they face with 56 percent of Oregonians saying that taxes are too high. The statewide poll was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies between January 4th-7th of this year and surveyed 500 registered Oregon voters with a plus/minus 4.38 percent margin of error.