The big transportation bill suffocated of its own weight in the House of Representatives. There is no dealer certification fee increase. No increase in the privilege tax. No new vehicle sales tax.
I am gone next week for both business and personal travel. When I return, I’ll begin work on my post-session analysis.
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 6:53 PM, fuller_darrell@yahoo.com wrote:
See highlighted text below.
The -A28 Amendment to HB2025-A to HB2025-A was released this afternoon. A Public Hearing (3:30 PM) and Work Session (4:30 PM) are scheduled for tomorrow. I have signed up to testify in person.
The -A28 amendment has some significant changes for dealers. And, it appears the changes resulted from a “deal” cut by OADA. This is not confirmed.
Current HB2025-A includes the following:
Three-year Certification fee change from $1,100 to $2,044 (a $315 per year increase);
A privilege tax increase (on new vehicles) from 0.5 percent to 1.0 percent;
A 2 percent sales tax on new cars; and
A 1 percent sales tax on used cars over $10,000.
Proposed -A28 Replacement Amendment:
No change in the three-year dealer certification;
Privilege tax expanded to new and used vehicles (over $10,000) and increases from 0.5 percent to 2.25 percent. So, the privilege tax transforms into a 2.25 percent sales tax on vehicles.
Increase in Doc Fee
With integrator: $250 to $450
Without integrator: $200 to $350
The Deal
I assume that, in exchange for these changes, the new car dealers will withdraw from supporting a referral of the package to the voters.
While the Doc Fee increase is great, I don’t think OVDA or ORVDA should support a package that includes a new 2.25 percent sales tax on used vehicles over $10,000.
That will be the nature of my testimony tomorrow unless you indicate otherwise.
Darrell W. Fuller
971-388-1786
From: fuller_darrell@yahoo.com <fuller_darrell@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2025 9:41 AM
To: ‘Scott Short’ <scshort39@yahoo.com>; ‘ovda’ <ovda@ordealers.com>; ‘southcommdiesel@gmail.com’ <southcommdiesel@gmail.com>; ‘Kenny Gebhardt’ <kennyg@rvcorral.com>
Subject: I scarcely know where to begin…Legislative Update / OADA cuts a deal?Some (maybe helpful) background:
Oregon has 30 Senators and 60 Representatives. We require a 3/5 majority to raise taxes (18 and 36). Democrats have 18 and 36. They can pass a transportation package with no Republican votes. But they need EVERY Democrat.
We also require 2/3 of Members in the Chamber to do business. So, Republicans COULD bring Session to a halt by just not showing up (they have a habit of doing this).
ODOT has positioned the dealer certification fee increase ($1,100 to $2,044 for three years) as required for the dealer program to cover its own costs. Without it, they contend, other programs will need to support dealer regulation. The fee hasn’t increased since 2017. It would be about $1,600 if only adjusted for inflation.
So, we are swimming upstream opposing the fee increase – and the new car dealers do not appear to oppose the increase.
In addition to the transportation bill, the Legislature has other high-priority negotiations happening. Campaign finance restrictions. Gun restrictions. Wildfire suppression funding. All high profile. Horse trading is to be expected.
We are under one-hour notice for Committees to hold meetings. Once a deal is cut behind the scenes, they will move quickly to report it out of Committee with VERY LITTLE time to review the “compromise”.
Up to the Minute
BREAKING NEWS: Rumor is OADA has cut a deal to remove them from funding a referral of the package to the voters. In exchange for not supporting a referral, OADA gets: no car sales tax, but they agreed to a large increase in the privilege tax (0.5 percent to 2.25 percent) and an increase in the Doc Fee to $450. That number seems too high. But that is the number I was given.
Every time I try to write an update, something significant changes before I can finish. Currently (approximately 9:30 AM Wednesday), no public meetings scheduled in Joint Transportation. Here are the highlights at this hour:
The certification fee increase remains in the amended version of HB2025.
So do the vehicle sales taxes (2 percent on new, 1 percent on used).
So does the increase in the privilege tax (0.5 to 1.0 percent).
The amended bill was reported out of the Joint Transportation Reinvestment Committee on Friday on a party line vote.
One Democrat planning to vote no (Sen. Mark Meek) was removed from the Committee by the Senate President, who appointed himself to the Committee to ensure it had enough votes to be reported out.
The Democratic Senate Co-Chair of the Committee, Sen. Chris Gorsek, got a little heated in an exchange with the Republic House Co-Vice Chair, Rep. Shelly Boshart-Davis. She has filed a workplace harassment complaint against Sen. Gorsek for creating a hostile work environment. Sen. Gorsek has since resigned from the Committee. The Senate President replaced himself and Senator Meek with two new Democratic Senators (Lew Frederick and James Manning). Committee member Sen. Khanh Pham is the new Senate Co-Chair of the Joint Committee. She has been an unabashed supporter of all the tax and fee increases (thinks the package is not big enough).
Meanwhile, Democratic Representative Paul Evens, in a remonstrance on the floor of the House, publicly asked the Speaker of the House to remove him from the Committee. She has yet to remove him.
In the meantime, a number of House Democrats signaled they oppose HB2025-A because of Meek’s heavy-handed removal from the Committee. Remember, Democrats need EVERY Democrat to support the package as long as Republicans remain locked up against it.
So, HB2025-A was reported out of Committee on Friday. The House voted to return it back to the Committee on Monday. It is now sitting back in Committee with negotiations happening behind closed doors.
Session ends no later than midnight on Sunday, June 29.
Democrats are not currently negotiating the package with Republican Committee members. This appears to be an effort to lock up Democrats (though some Republicans could certainly be poached).
In the background is the VERY real threat that whatever the Democrats pass (if anything) will be referred by Republicans to the ballot. They are already raising money to begin a signature-gathering effort the second the Legislature adjourns. If they get enough signatures (likely on the gas tax hike alone), the voters will get an up-or-down vote in November, 2026. All of the taxes and fee increases will be suspended until the election.
However, if the Democrats do get a new package approved, they could include a different election date in the package, moving it up from November, 2026.
Moreover, if the package is referred, we still have our 2026 short session in February. The February session could create a different package, notwithstanding the results of the November, 2026 election.
Bottom line
Fee increase is in the package.
Sales tax in the package.
Privilege tax increase in the package.
Package will likely be referred to voters.
Referral will delay implementation until at least January, 2027.
All of this could be wrong.
Some interesting reading
Poll Shows Voters Aren’t Worried About Oregon Roads and Don’t Want to Pay to Fix Them
Darrell W. Fuller
971-388-1786