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Effects of Bill 2082 On drivers : State gasoline tax, now 24 cents per gallon, would increase by 2 cents Oct. 1 and 4 cents Jan. 1. Vehicle registration fee, now $30 every two years, would increase by $10 Jan. 1. On road projects: 2.05 cents of the 6-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase would support up to $600 million in state bonds for highway and bridge modernization and safety projects. 3.95 cents would go to cities (40 percent) and counties (60 percent) for two years. Then the state would get 50 percent, counties 30 percent and cities 20 percent. Of the new $10 registration fee, the state would get 60 percent, counties 24.4 percent and cities 15.6 percent for two years. Then the money would follow the formula above. Sources: Legislative Revenue Office; Oregon Department of Transportation Raise in gas tax could revamp I-5 interchanges Revenue committee will send bill to House By PETER WONG SALEM -- An upgrading of the south Medford freeway interchange could get $15 million, and state highway projects in Medford up to $62 million, as part of a gasoline tax increase headed for a vote of the Oregon House. Of a 6-cent-per-gallon increase that emerged Tuesday from the House Revenue Committee, a third of the new money would support $600 million in bonds for highway modernization projects. The rest would go to cities, counties and the state for road and bridge maintenance. "We believe the bonding component is going to ensure the bill's passage in the House," said John Watt of Medford, a former state representative who now is a lobbyist for 10 Medford businesses and Jackson County government. "For Southern Oregon members, this gives them something to vote for because of the regional projects that the Oregon Department of Transportation has identified, though they are only suggested projects." ODOT now spends about $54 million a year statewide on modernization. ODOT has listed four Medford projects, estimated at $62 million, among the $725 million statewide that would qualify. The expansion of the south Medford interchange with Interstate 5 is estimated at $15 million, the next two phases of the north Medford interchange, $38 million, and the linkage between Highway 62 and Highway 238 in west Medford, $9 million. "We have a lot of unfunded needs in Medford," said Rep. Rob Patridge, R-Medford. "For Southern Oregon, this is the biggest issue for the long-term future of our community." Though Patridge is a member of and Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, heads the Legislature's joint budget subcommittee on transportation, the Legislature would not pick specific projects. The bill would require ODOT to submit a list of projects to the Emergency Board, which meets between legislative sessions. All of them said Tuesday's action is only a step toward legislative approval of higher gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees, which the Oregon Constitution reserves for road and bridge work. The Legislature's most recent increase in the gasoline tax was in 1991, when it went from 22 cents to 24 cents per gallon. The two-year vehicle registration fee was increased from $20 to $30 in 1989. Approval of House Bill 2082, because it is a tax increase, will require three-fifths majorities in the House and Senate. The bill is expected to go to the House early next week. The House passed such increases twice two years ago, but the Senate killed both. "The big battle is going to be in the Senate," Watt said. Though it voted out the tax increase Tuesday, the House Revenue Committee also rejected a proposed replacement of the weight-mile tax on trucks with higher registration fees and a tax on diesel fuel. The weight-mile tax, which goes up proportionately with the gas tax, is based on the weight and mileage of trucks in Oregon. Patridge believes the House will pass the tax increase. "But I think proponents would lose the 18 votes necessary to pass a transportation funding plan in the Senate," Hannon said. "I am not saying where I am at (on a final vote), but I do support repeal of the weight-mile tax." House Bill 3344 would have increased truck registration fees 11-fold as well as imposed a new tax on diesel fuel. But some trucking industry lobbyists say they prefer it to further increases in the weight-mile tax, which they complain is costly and requires too much paperwork. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA