Ore. House Balks on Gas Tax Bill
After the vote, supporters of the transportation package said they weren't ready to give up the fight, even though legislative leaders are hoping to adjourn the session this week.
With the clock ticking toward the session's end, the gas tax package failed 33-27, three votes short of the three-fifths majority needed to pass tax measures in the House.
The bill sank after some House members complained about the Senate's move to replace the state's weight-mile taxes on trucks with a diesel tax.
"We're damned if we do, damned if we don't," Uherbelau said. "How do we decide which is the biggest damn?"
The package was rejected even though lawmakers had worked out compromise language that would have put a six-year expiration on the package to give the 2005 Legislature a chance to assess whether the system taxed cars and trucks fairly.
Gov. John Kitzhaber endorsed the compromise approach, and he said that if the House rejected the package, "the issue is over."
If the gas tax plan were to die, this would be the fourth consecutive legislative session in which lawmakers have refused to raise the tax to expand and repair Oregon's road system.
The House earlier voted for a 6-cent-a-gallon hike in the gas tax, which now stands at 24 cents a gallon, but the Senate trimmed the increase to 5 cents. Both versions include a $10 increase in the two-year vehicle registration fee.
The biggest change the Senate made was to repeal the weight-mile tax on truckers and replace it with the diesel fuel tax.
Truckers have been trying for years to get rid of the weight-mile tax, saying it is costly and cumbersome to administer.
But Oregon Automobile Club and others say basing truck taxes on weight and travel is the best way to compensate for trucks' wear on the road system.
