The Republican-led group attempting to halt a scheduled increase to Oregon’s transportation taxes has officially submitted enough required signatures to allow voters the final say next November. The Secretary of State’s Office announced Tuesday that it had so far verified 163,451 signatures of the 194,000 submitted by the campaign earlier this month, meaning the organizers far exceeded the roughly 78,000 signatures required. The campaign submitted an additional 57,000 signatures Monday that have not been verified. The news means Oregonians will officially no longer see a 6-cent increase to the state’s 40 cents per gallon gas tax or hikes to title and registration fees in January. It also means the state’s 0.1% payroll tax for transit will not temporarily double as it was set to do. The petitioners’ successful effort marks a major loss for Democrats, who spent much of the year trying to craft a package that would increase funding for the state transportation agency, local governments and public transit districts. After a series of missteps, Democrats approved a plan in a special legislative session this fall that would have raised taxes to a much smaller extent than they initially proposed. Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr of Dundee and Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio immediately launched the referendum campaign to halt the tax hikes, saying they would unnecessarily hurt taxpayers. The tax hikes had already been suspended while the Secretary of State’s Office verified the signatures. Unless lawmakers act, the tax hikes will remain frozen pending a decision from voters next November. Democratic lawmakers have been mulling over their options for several weeks and are expected to take up the issue during the short session that begins in February. Cities, counties and the Oregon Department of Transportation, which is facing a significant budget shortfall and threatened to lay off hundreds of workers earlier this year without additional funding, will now go into 2026 without that extra revenue to help maintain and fix the state’s roads and bridges. The Statesman Journal reported Monday that the state transportation agency is now projecting a $242 million budget deficit for the current biennium. As of publication, a spokesperson for the agency had not responded to an email sent Tuesday morning requesting additional information. Several provisions of the transportation law were not targeted by the referendum effort and are still set to go into effect. Those include provisions that will: Simplify the state’s tax structure for trucking companies Increase legislative oversight of major projects managed by the Oregon Department of Transportation Gradually require electric vehicle drivers to pay a fee per mile driven Require truckers and car drivers to pay their fair share for their wear and tear on the state’s roads and bridges Eliminate existing language in state law that would allow tolling to pay for certain highway projects Carlos Fuentes is the lead state government and politics reporter at The Oregonian/OregonLive. He covers the Oregon governor, lawmakers, state agencies and elections, examining how policy decisions made in Salem affect Oregonians in every corner of the state. Contact him at 503-221-5386. STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected]. The post Oregonians won’t see gas tax hike in January as opponents secure enough signatures to send issue to ballot appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less