Portland’s Gas Tax Renewal: What Voters Approved in May 2024 Portland voters overwhelmingly renewed the city’s local gas tax in May 2024, continuing a funding mechanism for street repair and safety that has been in place since 2016. The tax remains at 10 cents per gallon on motor vehicle fuel, with no increase approved despite rising costs and inflation. The renewed measure, known as Measure 26-245, passed with 71% voter support according to official election results. This continuation ensures the Fixing Our Streets program administered by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will receive approximately $70.5 million over four years, beginning January 2025. Funding from the tax is dedicated to three main categories: paving and street maintenance, safety improvements, and community street services. Specific allocations include $23.5 million for paving projects on both busy and neighborhood streets, $21 million for various safety initiatives (including $9 million for busy street safety, $6 million for neighborhood street safety, $6 million for Safe Routes to School projects, and $2.5 million for additional safety improvements), and $23.5 million for community street services such as pothole repair, gravel street maintenance, pavement base repair, and signal and street light upkeep. The tax was originally approved by Portland voters in 2016 with 53% support and renewed again in 2020. Over its first eight years, the program generated approximately $150 million for transportation safety and maintenance services. These funds have been used to repave 80 lane miles of city streets, repair over 40,000 potholes, and implement more than 200 additional safety improvements across Portland. Commissioner Mingus Mapps, who oversees PBOT, confirmed during the renewal campaign that the tax rate would remain unchanged at 10 cents per gallon for the next four years. He emphasized that the funding is crucial given that only about 20% of PBOT’s $510 million annual budget comes from discretionary revenue sources. The measure includes accountability provisions requiring expenditures to be reviewed by a public oversight committee and undergo independent financial audits. The companion Heavy Vehicle Apply Tax (HVUT), which ensures trucks pay their proportionate share for street maintenance, was also re-passed by the Portland City Council in 2020 and 2024. As of the May 2024 ballot, Portland maintains the highest local gas tax in Oregon. The average driver continues to pay roughly $5 per month for the tax, based on driving 12,000 miles annually in a vehicle with 20 miles per gallon fuel efficiency, with all fuel purchased within city limits.
44