After a nearly four week pause, the Oregon Senate plans to return to work Monday morning to give final approval to a $4.3 billion package of tax and fee increases to boost funding for road and bridge maintenance and public transit.
Senate Democrats delayed the vote, originally scheduled for Sept. 3, to allow Democratic Sen. Chris Gorsek of Gresham to recover from back surgery. Senators must be physically present on the floor of the Salem Capitol to cast a vote on any bill.
Democrats consider approval of House Bill 3991, largely crafted by Gov. Tina Kotek, essential to prevent widespread breakdowns in the state’s transportation system as soon as this fall due to looming layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation and funding shortages at cities and counties.
Democrats need Gorsek’s vote to ensure the package’s survival because they have just 18 members in the Senate, the exact number required to raise taxes. No Senate Republican has indicated support for the plan.
Monday marks the second date that Senate President Rob Wagner of Lake Oswego declared the vote would happen and the proposal would pass. On Sept. 2, he surprised politics watchers and his own caucus by announcing the next day’s planned vote would be delayed to Sept. 17 due to Gorsek’s continuing serious health problems. Then, late on Sept. 16, Wagner surprised the same people for the same reason, saying the vote would instead take place Sept. 29.
If the Senate in fact musters a quorum on Monday and senators produce 18 votes in favor of the bill, Kotek is expected to promptly sign it, immediately averting layoffs of hundreds of ODOT workers and more gradually raising prices at the gas pump and at the DMV. The proposal is predicted to generate $4.3 billion over 10 years.
Even if the vote happens smoothly on Monday, lawmakers’ work for the week won’t be done. House and Senate committees are scheduled to meet Monday through Wednesday to advance policy discussions and potential bills ahead of the 2026 short session. Much of their work is expected to center on the funding and service holes that national Republicans’ tax- and budget-cutting “Big Beautiful Bill” will create for Oregonians, particularly in health care and social service supports.
