Gov. Tina Kotek: No tolling now, but maybe tolling later

FILE – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek speaks during a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. A bill recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs was passed by the Oregon Legislature, Friday, March 1, 2024, undoing a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law as governments struggle to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history. The bill now heads to the desk of Kotek, who said in January that she is open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

by: Peter Wong

Posted: Mar 16, 2024 / 08:00 AM PDT

Updated: Mar 15, 2024 / 02:48 PM PDT

PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — Gov. Tina Kotek says her pause on tolling now for Portland metro area freeways should not be read as no tolling ever for Oregon highways and bridges.

But Kotek halted the current toll-making process set in motion by 2017 legislation, which left it to the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Transportation Commission to figure out how to reduce metro traffic congestion and raise money for new projects. She had already paused its implementation until Jan. 1, 2026.

Kotek told reporters on Thursday, March 14, that the broader question should be decided by legislators next year, when they will take up the next long-term plan for transportation projects and funding.

It was her first chance to explain the reasoning behind her letter earlier this week to the commission, which is ODOT’s policy-making arm.

“What my decision said is that the process started in the 2017 Legislature was not ready to go all the way through,” she said in her first news conference since the 2024 Legislature closed on March 7.