Oregon lawmakers want to fix tax disparity on large trucks

Two Oregon state lawmakers are pushing for a one-day special session to reassess the state’s tax collection on large trucks.

Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, and Rep. Anna Scharf, R-Amity, have put in a request with legislative administrators for House and Senate lawmakers to vote on whether to convene an emergency session in the coming weeks. The focus of the session would be to rebalance the state’s weight-mile tax.

Cars and trucks pay into the state’s road maintenance fund. Passenger vehicles pay via a state motor vehicle fuel tax, while commercial vehicles pay with a weight-mile tax. Both pay registration fees.

Fees and taxes must be spent on roads. State funds can be used for both construction projects and the day-to-day maintenance and operations of the state’s roads.

More than 40% of state highway fund revenue is sent to cities and counties.

The lawmakers believe the proportion of road taxes paid by large trucks is unfair.

Scharf said in a news release the Oregon Constitution requires the state highway fund to be “fair and equitable to light and heavy users alike to ensure that cars and trucks pay their fair share of the usage of the road.”

The lawmakers highlighted the state’s biennial Highway Cost Allocation Study. Scharf said the study is used to understand the cost responsibility of each class of vehicle.

The 2021-2023 report showed that heavy vehicles were overpaying by 16%, while the 2023-2025 report showed heavy trucks were overpaying by about one-third. Specifically, heavy-duty vehicles are expected to overpay by 32.4% during the next biennium.

In order to bring the heavy vehicle equity ratio back into balance, the study recommends reducing weight-mile tax rates across the board to approximately 70% of their current rates.

Due to concern the Democratic majority will not address the issue during the upcoming 35-day regular session, Scharf said that “this constitutional violation must be addressed in a special session.”

She added that the Oregon Department of Transportation estimates large trucks overpay by about $193 million per year.

Scharf wrote that while the weight-mile tax is paid by large trucks, the cost is passed on to Oregonians as increased prices on goods and services used daily.

“We simply cannot force trucking companies and independent truckers to shoulder the burden of Oregon’s transportation taxes and continue to knowingly violate Oregon’s Constitution,” Scharf said. “A one-day special session can remedy this situation now.”

What’s next?

The legislative vote about whether to convene a special session is expected around the first of the year. Ballots were distributed this week with a 14-day window for return.

A simple majority of lawmakers from each chamber must vote in favor of convening a special session. If they do, they would meet in early January.

If the issue is not settled in the special session, it can be introduced for consideration in the regular session that begins Feb. 5. LL

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