To invest in transportation, first build public trust and understanding

By Rob Zako, BEST Executive Director

August 15, 2025

As Governor Kotek proposes raising taxes to pay for highway maintenance, Oregonians want to know what they are buying and the benefits.

Wildfire burning along a state highway. *Source: Oregonian*

Last year, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) told lawmakers they needed an extra $1.8 billion a year to maintain the existing transportation system—plus a couple billion more to finish paying for megaprojects lawmakers promised seven years prior.^[1]

This year, Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill to increase taxes that would have generated by 2034 over $2 billion annually for transportation.^[2] As an alternative to higher taxes, some Republican lawmakers suggested taking funding from public transit, passenger rail, biking, walking, and climate change efforts and redirecting it to maintain highways.^[3]

Now after none of those ideas moved forward, Governor Tina Kotek is proposing to raise the state gas tax 6 cents a gallon as a stopgap to avoid drastic layoffs to ODOT staff that maintain highways.^[4]

BEST supports funding for essential highway operations and maintenance: responding to emergencies, plowing snow, fixing potholes, and responding to wildfires that impact highways. We note that under Kotek’s proposal, a typical driver would pay just $3 per month more in gas taxes: not a huge amount.^[5]

But the average Oregonian likely doesn’t understand and might not trust the need for additional funding. Indeed, despite being heavily involved in discussions over the last two years, BEST has more questions than answers. What sources of funding are used for what purposes is complicated!

Revenue Flow in ODOT’s 2023–2025 Legislatively Adopted Budget. *Source: ODOT*

Recently, Governor Kotek explained, “Due to a significant budget gap, ODOT must implement severe operational cuts.”^[6]

Kotek’s statement is both true and incomplete. As ODOT has explained, since 2001 there have been five increases in transportation taxes: Oregon Transportation Investment Act I (2001), OTIA II (2002), OTIA III (2003), Jobs and Transportation Act (2009), and Keep Oregon Moving (2017). But lawmakers directed most of this new funding to construction projects and other programs, leaving little that ODOT can use for highway maintenance.^[7]

Distribution of Keep Oregon Moving (2017) revenues, only 2% of which can be used for highway maintenance. *Source: ODOT*

For the 2013–2015 biennium, the Legislature approved $454 million for highway maintenance.^[8] Twelve years later for the 2025–2027 biennium, due to constraints imposed by the Legislature, ODOT requested only $419 million.^[9] Accounting for inflation, the buying power of that highway maintenance funding has actually decreased by roughly a third.^[10] No wonder ODOT is facing cuts in frontline staff!

To put these figures into context, for the 2013–2015 biennium, the Legislature authorized gas taxes, weight-mile taxes, and various motor vehicle licenses and fees totaling $2,426 million, of which 19% went to highway maintenance.^[8] Twelve years later for the 2025–2027 biennium, while that total amount grew to $3,562 million, only 12% went to highway maintenance.^[9] ODOT is actually taking in significantly more money but is able to allocate only a smaller amount to highway maintenance. The average Oregonian can be forgiven for wondering why they are being asked to pay more when they already have been!

It is like a homeowner who gets a pay increase but whose spouse tells them to not set aside money to replace an aging roof but rather to renovate the kitchen, add a new bedroom, and build a swimming pool.

Happily, the road to building trust and understanding is clear: Share clearly in plain language what Oregonians are buying and the benefits.

Colorado offers a good model that Oregon could follow. In 2010, they passed their State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent Government (SMART) Act.^[11] Today, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) says, “Just as important as establishing a project pipeline is creating transparency and accountability structures that let the public see the progress on these projects and how dollars are being spent.”^[12] CDOT maintains an Accountability Dashboard to represent a transparent view into the status and funding of their 10-Year Plan program of projects.^[13]

BEST calls on Governor Kotek and lawmakers across the aisle, whatever else they might do, to work with ODOT to ensure that Oregonians understand what they are buying and the benefits.

Accountability Dashboard. *Source: CDOT*

Rob Zako, Ph.D., led a University of Oregon research team developed a toolkit, Better Outcomes: Improving Accountability & Transparency in Transportation Decision-Making (2017), to help policymakers and staff at all levels of government make transportation investments that serve the public better.

Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation is a founding member of Move Oregon Forward, a coalition of over 50 organizations that is proposing the “5P Accountability Framework”: Planning & Prioritization, Performance management & Public reporting, and Partnerships & shared governance.

Notes

^ Oregon’s transportation system is due for an overhaul next year. Here’s what you need to know (OPB, 7/15/24).
^ Oregon Democrats’ transportation funding bill could raise $2B per year, analysis shows (OPB, 6/13/25).
^ House Republicans propose cutting services, not hiking taxes, to pay for Oregon road upkeep (OPB 4/30/25).
^ On tap for Oregon special session: 6-cent gas tax hike, transit funding and more (OPB, 7/23/25)
^ An Oregonian driving 1,000 miles a month with a vehicle getting 20 miles a gallon uses 50 gallons a month. The increase of 6 cents per gallon on 50 gallons per month would cost just an additional $3 per month.
^ Governor Kotek Announces Funding Solution to Address Transportation System Crisis (news release, 8/7/25).
^ How is maintenance and preservation funded (presentation, ODOT, 10/15/24).
^ ^a ^b 2013–2015 Legislatively Adopted Budget: Sources and Uses of Funds (ODOT, 11/26/13)
^ ^a ^b 2025–2027 Agency Request Budget: Sources and Uses of Funds (ODOT, Nov. ’24)
^ CPI Inflation Calculator (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
^ Colorado SMART Act (Legislative Council Staff, 12/19/24).
^ Transparency & Accountability (CDOT).
^ Accountability Dashboard (CDOT).

Sources and Uses of Funding

For a more complete picture of transportation funding in Oregon, BEST combined into a single speadsheet ODOT’s summaries of the sources and uses of funding for each biennium from 2013–2015 to 2025–2027.