Secretary of state warns Oregon lawmakers for missing gas tax referendum bill deadline
By Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM, Ore. -- Democratic lawmakers didn’t meet a recommended Wednesday deadline to pass a law rescheduling a gas tax referendum to May, but they’re still moving forward with the effort despite warnings from the state’s top election official that doing so could limit voter input.
Senate Bill 1599, which passed the Oregon Senate on Monday, would move the date that Oregon voters can approve or reject parts of a controversial 2025 transportation law from the November general election to the May 19 primary.
The Oregon House is scheduled to take up the bill on Thursday, despite a January memo from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office saying lawmakers and Gov. Tina Kotek have until Feb. 25 to sign the bill into law to give time to print ballots for Oregonians living overseas and gather arguments for the state-issued voter’s pamphlet. But this deadline was just a recommendation, according to Secretary of State Tobias Read.
To allow submission of measure arguments for inclusion in the state voter’s pamphlet, we recommend providing at least 10 business days for filers to submit filings. As such, any legislation to reschedule a state measure for the May 2026 primary election should have an emergency clause and be signed by the Governor not later than February 25, 2026.
– Oregon Secretary of State’s Office, Jan. 27, 2026
“Yes, you can still reschedule the referendum to May after today; however, every day that passes makes it more challenging for my office to provide Oregonians with a free alternative to paying a $1,200 fee to file statements about the referendum in the voters’ pamphlet,” Read told lawmakers in an email on Wednesday.
Read is referring to Oregon law which says any person who wants to have a line in the state’s voter pamphlet must either pay a $1,200 fee or file 500 signatures. If a person or group chooses the latter, then the secretary of state must verify those signatures by March 12 — and that process takes time.
That means the longer the Oregon Legislature puts off passing the bill, the less time Oregonians have to submit the money or the required signatures to include their arguments supporting or opposing increases to Oregon’s gas tax, title and registration fees and transit payroll tax in the state-issued voter’s pamphlet.
“This could impact Oregonians’ ability to make an informed decision about the referendum and for proponents or opponents to make their voices heard,” Read wrote. “This signature gathering alternative makes sure money is not a barrier between Oregonians and their democracy. That’s an Oregon value I know you all agree with.”
The House could have passed the bill Wednesday, but the state Constitution requires bills to be read on three separate days before lawmakers can vote on them. The Senate passed the bill Monday, but a quorum-denying GOP walkout that afternoon in the House prevented the lower chamber from giving the bill its first reading until Tuesday.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, a Dundee Republican and leader behind the No Tax Oregon campaign, said Gov. Tina Kotek and Democrats in the Oregon Legislature demonstrate a troubling pattern of ignoring the will of voters.
“It’s clear that Senate Bill 1599 should be considered dead by every lawmaker in this building,” Starr said in a statement. “If supermajority Democrats continue to move it forward, it will prove that their loyalty is to politics above all, not the people of Oregon.”
Oregon Capital Chronicle reporter Shaanth Nanguneri contributed to this story.
