E-bike rebate and path funding return to transportation bill with luxury car tax

One glaring omission from the transportation bill that was released last week was language that would create an electric bike rebate program. When I spoke to House Representative Mark Gamba (D-Milwaukie) in April, he assured me the rebate policy he crafted in House Bill 2963 would be folded into the larger bill. But when HB 2025 came out, it was nowhere to be found.

Now the e-bike has returned to the bill in an amendment that was just made public a few minutes ago. The amendment would also boost funding for carfree biking and walking paths after a week of intense lobbying from transportation and environmental advocacy groups.

The amendment adds an increase to the existing vehicle privilege tax for luxury cars, bringing the rate to 4% of the retail price. Oregon’s vehicle privilege tax was set at 0.5% in 2017 and with this amendment to HB 2025, it would be raised to 1% for vehicles that sell for less than $75,000 and up to 4% for vehicles over that price.

As I reported yesterday, a “luxury vehicle tax” emerged from a coalition of advocates and lawmakers who were concerned that major transportation needs were left out of HB 2025. Chief among them were electric vehicle and charging infrastructure subsidies and more funding for off-highway walking and cycling paths. The -11 amendment posted today addresses these concerns.

Of the total revenue raised by this tax increase, half will go to the Railroad Fund (no change with this amendment), but of the remaining 50% would now be split in the following ways:

• 33% to the Multimodal Active Transportation Fund (that funds the Oregon Community Paths Program),
• 37% to the Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Incentive Fund,
• 15% to the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electrification Charging Fund,
• 10% to the Department of Transportation Operating Fund, “for the purpose of providing rebates for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations under the department’s community charging rebates program,”
• and 5% to the Electric Bicycle Incentive Fund.

According to the amendment, the E-Bike Incentive Fund would remain largely the same as Gamba first proposed. It would give a rebate voucher of $1,200 to individuals who are 16 or older and who are already enrolled in a state program that provides medical assistance. The program would be housed in the Department of Human Services and they would coordinate with Oregon Health Authority using the existing Oregon Eligibility (ONE) System to verify who qualifies.

The only difference I can see in the program is that there would no longer be a set amount of revenue for it. Gamba initially asked for $5 million to kickstart the fund, which would have been enough for about 4,000 to 5,000 vouchers. I haven’t seen the math yet on how much revenue 5% of the vehicle privilege tax would raise.

The next hearing on the bill is an informational meeting scheduled for 5:00 pm tonight (Tuesday). Then on Wednesday at 3:00 pm the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment has scheduled the bill’s first work session. Check out HB 2025 on the state’s legislative information website for more information.