The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is the state agency responsible for the building and upkeep of roads and bridges, vehicle licensing, and public transportation funding. The Department currently employs around 4,700 people, and it is facing a roughly 300 million dollar budget shortfall. 

Traditionally, ODOT has been funded primarily by a gas tax, which is currently set at 40 cents per gallon. However, with the rise of electric and hybrid vehicles, along with more cars having higher gas mileage, the gas tax has been bringing in less revenue.

The potential solution by Oregon Governor Tina Kotek comes in the form of a proposed bill that will increase vehicle taxes across the board. 

Kotek’s bill would increase the gas tax, title fees, registration fees, registration surcharge fees, payroll taxes, and would introduce a mandatory per-mile tax for hybrid and electric vehicles, which previously has been optional. Hybrid and electric vehicle owners used to be able to choose to participate or not. This would also end most rebates for electric vehicles.

Some people think that certain tax increases are fair. Gabe Nagler, science teacher, is one such person.

“I think some tax increase is fair. I think the way it works is that we pay a lot of the money in the taxes that are collected for maintaining the roads, through gasoline sales. If you’re plugging into a wall outlet, you’re not going to be paying those taxes, and so the roads would not be maintained in the same way,” Nagler said. “So I think it makes sense that there needs to be a way to pay those that own electric vehicles, still need to pay their share of the maintenance of roads.”

Nagler, however, owns a hybrid car, which could possibly be taxed by both the mileage tax and the gas tax.

“If you have a hybrid car, if you have a plug-in hybrid, for example, and you never plug it in, then you’re getting taxed double. That seems problematic,” Nagler said.

The alternative to this tax increase? Layoffs. 

500 ODOT employees could lose their jobs. The bill has already passed Oregon’s House of Representatives, and if the budget bill does not pass Oregon’s Senate, Kotek has scheduled layoffs to begin on Oct.15. 

However, some Oregonians have objected to this bill. This would increase the price of transportation for all drivers. Most people in the state have to drive to get to work, and Oregon is a state where 45% of people reported living paycheck to paycheck.  

The Senate vote for this bill was scheduled for Sept. 15, but was moved to Sept. 17, however, the Oregon State Senate has still not voted on it. There will be a bill reading in the Senate on Sept. 26.