{"id":2483327,"date":"2025-09-07T07:40:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T11:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/with-gas-tax-revenues-falling-oregon-dems-could-require-ev-drivers-to-pay-by-the-mile\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T07:44:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T11:44:23","slug":"with-gas-tax-revenues-falling-oregon-dems-could-require-ev-drivers-to-pay-by-the-mile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/with-gas-tax-revenues-falling-oregon-dems-could-require-ev-drivers-to-pay-by-the-mile\/","title":{"rendered":"With Gas Tax Revenues Falling, Oregon Dems Could Require EV Drivers to Pay by the Mile"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwith-gas-tax-revenues-falling-oregon-dems-could-require-ev-drivers-to-pay-by-the-mile%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2483327&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Oregon lawmakers are addressing a notable transportation budget shortfall by proposing new fees and tax increases, especially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-to-maintain-trump-era-policy-increase-tariffs-on-numerous-chinese-imports\/\" title=\"Biden to uphold Trump&#039;s policy, raise tariffs on many Chinese imports\">targeting electric vehicle<\/a> (EV) owners, who will now face mandatory road usage charges. The Oregon House recently approved a 10-year, $4.3 billion package of tax and fee hikes, including a new program requiring EV drivers to either pay a per-mile usage fee or a flat $340 annual fee. Additionally,gasoline taxes are set to increase from 40 to 46 cents per gallon,vehicle registration fees are nearly doubling,and title fees will also rise substantially. Despite strong opposition from the public-94% of those who testified were against the bill-Democratic leaders control the legislature and the governor&#8217;s office. The new road usage fee system, similar to one in place in Hawaii, aims to create a fairer funding mechanism based on actual road use rather than vehicle type or purchase price. This proposal comes as Oregon faces a $300 million gap in its transportation budget.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>With a massive hole in its transportation budget, Oregon lawmakers want to have electric vehicle drivers pay a fee to fund programs that used to be funded by gasoline tax receipts.<\/p>\n<p>In a Monday vote, the Oregon House approved a 10-year, $4.3 billion conglomeration of tax and fee increases, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/oregoncapitalchronicle.com\/2025\/09\/02\/oregon-transportation-tax-vote-and-layoffs-delayed-because-of-senators-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oregon Capital Chronicle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The bill needs Senate approval, as well as that of Gov. Tina Kotek. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/oregon-mental-health-advisory-board-member-identifies-turtle-not-joking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democrats<\/a> control both the legislative and executive branches in Oregon.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#128680; Oregon can&rsquo;t afford a $4.3 BILLION tax hike. &#128680;<br \/> &#8304;Families are already struggling under record high inflation in Oregon, and now Democrats passed one of the largest taxes in state history.<\/p>\n<p>94% of Oregonians who testified opposed this transportation bill, but politicians in&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WVYnsD4G7a\">pic.twitter.com\/WVYnsD4G7a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jeff Helfrich (@JeffHelfrichOR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JeffHelfrichOR\/status\/1963016453696667766?\">September 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>What&rsquo;s known as a road usage program will eventually be phased in. Oregon has had a voluntary program known as OReGo that offered EV owners lower registration fees if they paid the two cents per mile usage levy, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opb.org\/article\/2025\/08\/28\/oregon-electric-vehicles-cars-evs-rebate-environment-transportation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oregon Public Broadcasting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That will go away with the new program, which is mandatory. EV owners can either pay the usage fee or pay $340 per year.<\/p>\n<p>EV users are not the only ones who will pay more.<\/p>\n<p>The gasoline tax will increase from 40 cents per gallon to 46 cents per gallon.<\/p>\n<p>Registration fees will almost double from $43 to $85 for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massachusetts-climate-official-on-people-producing-emissions-we-have-to-break-your-will\/\" title=\"Massachusetts Climate Official On People Producing Emissions: \u2018We Have To Break Your Will\u2019\">passenger vehicles<\/a>, while what the state calls utility vehicles and some EVs will find their registration fee increasing from $63 to $105.<\/p>\n<p>Passenger vehicle title fees will rise from $77 to $216.<\/p>\n<p>House Republican Leader Christine Drazan said 94 percent of those who commented on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/hertz-selling-fleet-electric-vehicles-shifting-back-gas-cars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proposal<\/a> opposed it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I could go on and on and on with the voices of Oregonians who are asking for this body to hear them,&rdquo; Drazan said.<\/p>\n<p>The state was facing a $300 million transportation budget gap, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/oregon-transportation-funding-road-usage-charge-ev-ceb4872e2d2e35f252fb3e27f5bd1f71\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Under the road usage plan, drivers report their mileage using either a smartphone app or the technology built into the vehicle, Scott Boardman, a policy adviser for the transportation department, said.<\/p>\n<p>Hawaii is already using the system, according to a state government <a href=\"https:\/\/hidot.hawaii.gov\/highways\/hawaiis-state-road-usage-charge-begins-for-electric-vehicles-on-july-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Hawai&rsquo;i Department of Transportation began its program on July 1.<\/p>\n<p>Hawaii charges <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/electric-vehicles-create-hazardous-situation-la-fire-cleanup-delay-homeowners-return-properties\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EV drivers<\/a> $8 per 1,000 miles, with the maximum a driver can pay capped at $50.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Instead of paying based on what type of car you drive &mdash; or can afford &mdash; a road usage charge means vehicle owners will pay only for how much they actually drive. It&rsquo;s a much fairer way for everyone to contribute to keeping our roads and bridges safe and operable,&rdquo; Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are starting initially with EVs and aim to phase all light-duty passenger vehicles into the program by 2033. Hawaii is fortunate since we can use our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >annual safety inspection program<\/a>, making the process easy and cost-effective,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oregon lawmakers, facing a significant shortfall in their transportation budget, plan to charge electric vehicle owners a fee to support programs previously funded by gasoline taxes. On Monday, the Oregon House passed a 10-year plan involving $4.3 billion in combined tax and fee hikes, as reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2483328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-30.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33451,62779,6642,62780],"class_list":["post-2483327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-gas-tax","tag-oregon","tag-road-funding"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-30.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2483327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2483327"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2483327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2483331,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2483327\/revisions\/2483331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2483328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2483327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2483327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2483327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}