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Transportation bill: It's a go Senate OKs package of new gas taxes, programs BY PETER WONG SALEM -- A roadblock to gasoline tax increases two years ago, the Oregon Senate did a big turnaround Saturday with its approval of a transportation package. The package would increase gasoline taxes for $600 million in new state highway projects and other road work. It also would substitute new taxes for truckers, expand special transportation for elderly and disabled passengers and create a high-speed rail line in the Willamette Valley and bus connections to Southern Oregon. "There is something in this package for everyone to hate," said Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, who helped find the money for transportation alternatives that drew critical votes for the tax increase. "But for Southern Oregon and the state, doing nothing is not an option this time." The Senate rejected two gasoline tax increases that the House approved for road work in the 1997 session. By an 18-10 vote Saturday, the Senate approved a revised House Bill 2082, which combines a 5-cent increase in gasoline taxes and a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees for motorists with a diesel-fuel tax and higher registration fees for trucks. It heads back to the House, whose original version proposed a 6-cent increase and left intact the current weight-mile tax for trucks. John Watt of Medford, a former state representative who is a lobbyist for 10 Medford businesses and Jackson County government, said he thinks the package has cleared its biggest hurdle. It passed the Senate with the exact number of votes required for approval of a tax increase. Among those voting were Hannon, Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, and Sen. Veral Tarno, R-Coquille. Absent was Sen. Bill Fisher, R-Roseburg, a Seventh-day Adventist. Part of the new money would pay off $600 million in bonds for state highway projects, including a potential $62 million for the north and south Medford interchanges with Interstate 5 and a linkage of Highway 62 and Highway 238 in west Medford. "There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the road system in Oregon needs work," said Sen. Lee Beyer, a Democrat from Springfield. "If we do not pass this one, cities and counties will be back again. But the number will keep getting higher and the need will be greater. "The only question is whether we have the courage to be honest with Oregon's public and say you have to pay for some of it." Most of Saturday's debate focused on the weight-mile tax, which Oregon instituted in 1947. Supporters say it assesses truckers based on the amount of damage caused to the state's roads, but opponents say it requires too much paperwork and encourages tax evasion. Sen. Marylin Shannon, R-Brooks, said its repeal was the only way a gasoline tax increase would pass her Senate Transportation Committee this session. "It goes through one door -- me," she said. "Mr. Governor, Mr. House, the package is dead if you take out this piece." The Oregon Trucking Association supports repeal, but the Oregon chapter of the American Automobile Association says it will petition to refer a repeal to voters. On a 19-9 vote, the Senate also approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would require the Legislature to make sure motorists and truckers bear their share of costs for road repairs. If the House agrees, Senate Joint Resolution 44 would go to voters Nov. 2. Several other Democrats also opposed repeal of the weight-mile tax. But their votes for the package were secured by another bill that borrows $15 million from the veterans' home loan fund. They had wanted $5 million for expansion of special transportation for elderly and disabled passengers, and $10 million for a high-speed rail line between Portland and Eugene, and bus connections to Medford and other outlying cities. The allocations will match federal grants. "This is a serious attempt on the part of the state to maintain its interest in participation in alternative forms of transportation," said Hannon, floor manager for Senate Bill 1284. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA