Oregon — Oregon lawmakers today gave first reading to Senate Bill 1599, sponsored by Senate President Rob Wagner and Speaker of the House Julie Fahey, legislation that would set the election date and procedures for a statewide vote on a referred transportation law passed during the 2025 special session. The transportation legislation passed in the previous session was the subject of substantial political controversy over the past 6 months. Governor Kotek initially delayed signing the signature piece of legislation, which she called an emergency last session, until just before the deadline when it would automatically pass into law, as an referendum initiative led by Republicans was preparing to launch but was delayed until the bill was signed by the governor or went into law automatically after the deadline.
The referendum effort run by ‘No Tax Oregon’ was ultimately successful in gathering more than the required number of signatures to place their initiative on the ballot, collecting over 250,000 signatures, an unprecedented achievement in both scale and speed. Following this success Governor Kotek began working on a proposal to have the legislature repeal the previously passed legislation which would substantively increase fuel taxes and other fees, until an opinion from former Oregon Attorney General Van Winkle (1935) surfaced casting doubt on the ability of the legislature to act on an item referred to referendum.
The people cannot refer a measure until it has been adopted by the general assembly and signed by the governor, and only lacks the required efflux of time to become a law. On the other hand, the general assembly, after the right of reference has been invoked, cannot interfere with a referred measure by the passage of another on the same subject until after the one referred has been voted upon by the people and their power in that respect exhausted.
SB 1599 moves the public vote on portions of Chapter 1, Oregon Laws 2025 (special session) — referred to voters through Referendum Petition 2026-302 — to coincide with the May 19, 2026 primary election. Under current law, the Legislature must establish the timing and administrative framework for a statewide vote once the required referendum signatures have been verified by the Secretary of State.
Republicans have accused Democrats of playing cheap politics with this legislation. Senator Bruce Starr, a petitioner on the referendum told KGW8:
I get it’s political, the last thing the (Democratic) majority wants is to have this on the November election … In an off-year election, non-presidential election, somewhere around 68-70% of Oregonians vote. In the primary, it’s about a third.
Senate President Rob Wagner, one of the sponsors of this bill to move the vote on the referendum owned up to the political nature of the Democrats move to fast-track the vote. He told reporters the following:
Is it political? For sure, I don’t think people want to see this on a November ballot.
The bill also outlines special election procedures, including accelerated timelines for ballot title review by the Oregon Supreme Court and preparation of the voters’ pamphlet. Notably, SB 1599 directs that a joint legislative committee, rather than state agencies, prepare both the explanatory statement and the financial estimate for the voters’ pamphlet.
In addition, the measure limits the voters’ pamphlet to a single ballot issue — the transportation law referred by petition — and sets deadlines for arguments, fiscal estimates, and any racial and ethnic impact statements associated with the measure.
Lawmakers declared the bill an emergency, allowing it to take effect immediately upon passage. If enacted, SB 1599 would ensure voters decide the fate of the disputed transportation legislation during the 2026 primary election rather than at a later special election date. Public testimony is not yet scheduled for the bill.
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interestingly they are not allowing any public testimony on the bill. Another reason why we need a big change in Oregon politics.