4 Oregon Trucking Association, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch It is my sincere hope that Oregon leaders come to their senses and voluntarily resolve the issue, rendering the lawsuit unnecessary. But until then, OTA must continue this important fight on behalf of its membership—especially in light of a new potential revenue package that could further deepen this disparity if not addressed. The prospect of a new transportation package also brings with it the opportunity to reform Oregon’s outdated weight-mile tax. As the last state in the union without any fuel tax on trucks, and with over seven dozen categories that carriers must calculate under this scheme, Oregon has an opportunity to reform this Byzantine law and in the process greatly reduce administrative costs as well as to capture evasion by out-of-state trucks who simply fail to accurately report their tax liability. Lastly, Oregon, via an executive order by former Governor Kate Brown, was Chair Message, cont. among the first states to approve the California Air Resource Board’s latest truck regulations, mandating an increasing percentage of trucks sold to be electric over the course of a short timeline. However, the legality of this order has been questioned in court by the business community, as it is the only state to attempt to adopt the rules without legislative approval. OTA has been vocal in informing decisionmakers of the impossibility of these rules—not only are they legally dubious, more importantly they are logistically impossible, and OTA is encouraging Oregon leaders to pursue a more practical course when attempting to reduce on-road emissions. Each of these issues represents a major opportunity for our industry, but without an active and involved membership that supports the association with their time and money, we could face further delay or failure. Threats: By now, I believe the threats to our industry should be self-apparent to the reader. Every missed opportunity or unchecked weakness has the potential to become a threat. We face an environmental and bike/ped lobby that is unparalleled in their aggressiveness and influence and that have made it their mission to reduce trucks on the road through any disincentive possible and to take more of our highway revenue and spend it on their projects. And they have many friends and sympathizers in government positions. We face a Legislature (as of yet) unwilling to rebalance our tax burden and reduce our overpayments—at a time when our industry is already struggling economically. We face labor unions and trial attorneys that seek to make our business more litigious, burdensome, and costly. We face a bureaucracy eager to impose environmental regulations on trucking that are virtually guaranteed to fail, but not before untold damage is done to our industry. We face growing bottlenecks on critical freight routes, with projects running behind schedules, over budget, and underfunded. And that’s just to name a few. But each of those also pose an opportunity for victory—if we all pitch in. I hope this analysis serves as a call to arms and somewhere in it you find an issue that enlivens you enough to get in the fight. There is much to be wary of in the months and years ahead, but also much to be hopeful about. As you can plainly see, the road ahead for OTA is a busy one, I hope I will see you on it, driving together to achieve a common victory. As the world saw during the COVID pandemic, together, there isn’t anything truckers can’t do. It has been my distinct honor and pleasure to serve as your Chair and represent this association on your behalf these last two years. But I’m even more excited for what lies ahead. I’ll see you down the road. Evan
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