7 / 30
7
www.ortrucking.orgIssue 1 | 2017
able to reach a compromise on this issue by the constitutionally
required date of adjournment of July 10, 2017. If this occurs, it
will require one or more special sessions to put together
a deal. The Republicans relish the idea of a special
session because they will be able to say that
the Democrats failed to provide sufficient
leadership to get the job done during the
regular session. Of course, the
Democrat’s dream is to get the
Republicans to vote in favor of a tax
increase, which they will use against
them during the 2018 campaigns.
There are other big issues facing this
legislature, not the least of which is
transportation funding. As I have
described in the
OTA Weekly Express,
the
Joint Committee on Transportation
Modernization and Preservation has broken
up into five work groups that are meeting twice a
week. The work groups are scheduled to meet
through the middle of March when the committee as a whole
will begin to develop a transportation funding package. This has
been a laborious and slow process. I’m not sure where it is headed
or whether or not it will be successful.
The conventional wisdom is that if the Legislature is able to
balance the budget, during the session, with some sort of a tax
increase, transportation will get left in the ditch. This
is based on the theory that the Legislature will
only vote once to increase taxes. However, if
the Legislature kicks the can down the
road to a special session to deal with
the budget, then it is possible that a
last-minute deal on transportation
can be put together.
I have been providing weekly
updates in the
OTA Weekly Express
about all things legislative. Of
course, this is the place to find the
timeliest information about what is
happening in Salem. In addition, our
legislative tracking list is posted on OTA’s
website, in the members only section,
under Government Affairs. You can click on
the blue bill numbers to actually see a copy of the
bills in their current form. If you have any questions, please
give either Jana or me a call. Stay tuned; this session is going to
be a doozy.
JOIN THE
OREGON TRUCK
PAC LEADERSHIP
CIRCLE!