February 26, 2026 6:50 a.m. 

With Wednesday’s recommended deadline for Senate Bill 1599 being signed into law passing, Oregon Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr said the legislation should now be considered dead.

A release from the Oregon Senate Republican Leader’s office said in late January. Secretary of State Tobias Read told legislative leaders in a memo that February 25th was the critical deadline for SB 1599 to be signed into law by Governor Tina Kotek. The legislation seeks to move the referendum on the gas tax to the May Primary Election ballot. It was approved by the Senate on Monday but has not been voted on in the House.

Starr said the memo warned that each day past the deadline compresses timelines for financial statements, explanatory statements and public arguments – directly threatening the long-standing provisions that guarantee citizen’s ability to help shape the language voters will see in their pamphlets.

Starr said, “It’s clear that Senate Bill 1599 should be considered dead by every lawmaker in this building. If Supermajority Democrats continue to move it forward, it will prove that their loyalty is to politics above all, not the people of Oregon”.

The release said the memo also noted that compressing statutory timelines could limit Oregonian’s ability to submit voters’ pamphlet statements without paying the $1,200 filing fee and would create significant administrative burdens for the Elections Division. Starr said Republicans have consistently raised concerns that rushing this process would disenfranchise citizens to make their voices heard.