SB 1601
As of Friday, March 6, 2026, Oregon Legislature officially passed Senate Bill 1601, which reallocates funds from a variety of transportation initiatives—notably, from programs like Safe Routes to Schools and Connect Oregon—into state highway maintenance and operations. In total, this bill redirects $218 million in order to remedy Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) $297 million funding shortfall for the 2025-2027 budget cycle. Furthermore, according to a statement released by the State of Oregon, this legislation addresses ODOT’s high rate of employment vacancy—nearly 15%—which was expected to worsen by another 470 layoffs, largely due to the department’s inability to meet current budget reductions.
Lawmakers argue that this reallocation of funds is a short-term solution to preventing worker layoffs (with emphasis on short-term) while maintaining road safety. According to Lisa Sumption, ODOT’s interim director, “redirecting existing funds from programs that serve important functions is not a long-term solution. Oregon's transportation system needs a long-term fix.” In total, the State of Oregon is drawing funding from eleven programs in this short-term fix, many of which support Oregon’s public and active (such as walking or biking) transportation. One such program is Safe Routes to Schools, which self-statedly “supports communities in walking, rolling, and biking to school through programs and grants for education and infrastructure construction.” In practice, this entails building infrastructure such as sidewalks and bikeways near K-12 institutions. While the program is funded at $15 million annually, this bill redirects $17 million towards highway maintenance, and furthermore both delays and reduces the program’s next round of grant funding.
Likewise, the bill reallocates $42 million from Connect Oregon, which, according to the State of Oregon, was established in order to “invest in non-highway modes of transportation.” Currently, this program supports “aviation, rail, and marine projects,” and is funded by a vehicle privilege tax (a tax of 0.5% of the retail sales price paid on the sale of new vehicles). In a similar move, the bill draws $8 million from the Oregon Community Paths program. This program supports the construction of multiuse paths, with a total of 14 current projects in Oregon, and is funded by both federal money and a bike excise tax. The latter funding source, which is a flat tax of $15 on the sale of new bicycles, has been problematized in the media for being reallocated into highway maintenance—it’s seen as ironic that money from bicycle owners would be put towards state highways. However, the State of Oregon unequivocally claims that “no funding from the bike excise tax has been redirected to highway maintenance,” and that “all revenue from the bike excise tax will continue to be dedicated to bike infrastructure improvements.”
Despite the State’s efforts to justify this bill, it’s still highly contested by groups such as Move Oregon Forward, a coalition of 45 Oregon nonprofits. In a recent statement, they claim that the fund reallocations from Safe Routes to Schools and Oregon Community Paths is “effectively stripping 60% of the funding used to build sidewalks and crossings for children.” They continue to argue that “the state’s current budget crisis did not come from school safety programs or community paths.” Instead, “it stems from long-term funding shortfalls and major road project costs that outpaced new revenues.” In effect, the coalition argues that the destination of the reallocated funds—state highway maintenance—is simultaneously the cause of the budgetary issues triggering this funds reallocation.
Similarly, 1000 Friends of Oregon, a nonprofit organization with the mission to “serve the public interest,” has been outspoken against the passage of Bill 1601. Cassie Wilson, the organization’s legislative manager, provided a statement to the Quest contending that “by taking over half the budget from Safe Routes to School and Oregon Community Paths, the state is further delaying desperately needed safety improvements for people who walk, bike, and roll.” They continue, arguing that “this delays Oregon's ability to achieve reductions in traffic crash fatalities and serious injuries, reduce transportation related greenhouse gas emissions, and make transportation options available for the 30% of Oregonians who can't or don't drive.” This argument comes in the face of the State of Oregon’s expressed reasoning for the bill’s passage: while it seems that the State claims to be improving traffic safety through prioritizing highway maintenance, 1000 Friends of Oregon argues that a reduction in traffic fatalities is instead reached by funding public transportation.
It is evident that the passage of Bill 1601 has been highly controversial and its impacts are expected to be felt by Oregon citizens over the coming year. However, the State of Oregon maintains that this budget reallocation is a one-time intervention, and they’ve stated the intention to reconsider transportation funding in the 2027 legislative session.