Oregon
Live: Day 2 of the Oregon Legislature’s special session on transportation
Oregon Department of Transportation: What to know about ODOT
ODOT manages and develops the state’s transportation system, which includes 8,000 miles of roads and nearly 2,800 bridges.
The Joint Special Session Committee on Transportation Funding is scheduled to hold a public hearing at noon on Aug. 31 to hear comments on Gov. Tina Kotek’s transportation funding bills, which would increase the gas tax and other fees in addition to phasing in a road usage charge for electric vehicles and other changes.
Registration for public testimony is open on the Legislature’s website until 11:30 a.m. Public comments will continue to be collected for 48 hours after the hearing begins. So far, 786 people have submitted comments online.
During the first public hearing on Aug. 25, more than 90 people who had registered to speak were unable to testify by the time the Joint Interim Committee on Transportation Funding adjourned.
Legislative staff said those individuals should register for the upcoming hearing and will be prioritized.
The second hearing was originally scheduled to be held on Aug. 29, but was postponed after multiple delays due to not enough House members in attendance for a quorum. By the time the House convened at 8:15 p.m., most of the people who had been in Salem for the hearing had left the Capitol Building.
The House of Representatives also is scheduled to convene at 4 p.m. for an expected second reading of the bills that make up the transportation package, House Bill 3991 and House Bill 3992, the only measures under consideration for the special session.
Follow along as Statesman Journal legislative reporter Dianne Lugo and state government reporter Anastasia Mason provide live coverage of the Aug. 31 hearing and the 4 p.m. House session for the second reading of the bill.
Why Gov. Tina Kotek called the Oregon Legislature into special session
The 2025 Legislature adjourned on June 27 without passing a transportation bill, leaving the Oregon Department of Transportation short about $300 million to maintain service levels for the two-year budget cycle that began July 1.
Kotek announced layoffs of 483 ODOT workers and the closure of a dozen maintenance stations across the state. The layoffs and closures were later put on hold, pending the outcome of the special session.
How Kotek’s bill would raise $5.7 billion over 10 years for transportation
Kotek’s proposed transportation package is estimated to raise $5.7 billion over the next 10 years. Her proposal includes:
- A 6-cent increase to the state gas tax for a total of 46 cents per gallon
- A $42 and $132 increase in vehicle registration and title fees, respectively
- A doubling of the 0.1% payroll tax to fund public transit
- A $30 supplemental registration fee for electric vehicles, and
- A new “road usage charge” to be phased in for electric and hybrid cars starting in 2027
HB 3991 also has new accountability measures, including transferring the power to appoint and fire the director of the ODOT to the governor instead of the Oregon Transportation Commission and repeals mandatory tolling language from the existing statute (which Kotek paused in 2024).
The last major transportation package, House Bill 2017, gave the transportation commission the power to hire and fire the head of ODOT.
Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social
Oregon
Oregon Lottery Pick 4 results for March 5
The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 5, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 5 drawing
1PM: 6-6-8-1
4PM: 7-4-6-0
7PM: 5-6-5-2
10PM: 3-5-4-4
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
- Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Oregon
Where Oregon Ducks rank in industry recruiting rankings for 2027 class
With the winter evaluation period of high school football recruiting now behind us, we’ve seen some of the top recruiting sites update their rankings over the past few weeks and start to reset their boards for the 2027 class. In February, On3 shifted players around after getting fresh looks at the class, and 247Sports did the same earlier this week.
So with Oregon’s handful of commits getting new ratings, where does the Ducks’ class rank nationally in this cycle?
If you look at sites individually, it looks different, with 247Sports having Oregon sitting at No. 13 in the nation. At Rivals, though, they take the industry ranking, which factors in their own rankings, plus an average from 247Sports and ESPN.
In the industry rankings, Oregon sits at No. 9 in the nation, with five commitments.
Going into the summer months, the Ducks are in a great spot, leading or among the top schools for a handful of the top prospects in the nation, like 5-star QB Will Mencl or 5-star WR Dakota Guerrant. We will see what movement Oregon can make in the coming months after official visits take place early in the summer.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Oregon
New Data Shows Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise
Data released by the Oregon Health Authority this week suggests Oregonians are getting hurt on electric scooters more every year.
In recent years, according to OHA, an “e-scooter-specific code” was developed for health care tracking purposes.
From 2021 to 2024, annual injury reports under this code from Oregon hospitals and emergency departments jumped from 211 to 418.
And in just the first nine months of 2025, there had been 509 such reports.
“These injuries are not minor scrapes,” said Dagan Wright, an OHA epidemiologist, in a written statement. “They often involve head injuries, broken bones, and other serious trauma that requires emergency or inpatient care.”
The city of Portland signed contracts with three e-scooter rental companies in 2018, as the transportation craze spread across the country. But e-scooter injury diagnosis codes are relatively new in health care reporting, Wright said in the OHA statement.
“While the overall numbers remain smaller than for other transportation-related injuries, the rapid increase over a short period of time is a clear safety signal,” OHA added.
The agency highlighted the story of Portland e-scooter commuter Daniel Pflieger, who it says was riding a scooter home when he reportedly slid on ice. He bruised several ribs.
Sometimes outcomes are worse. OHA identified 17 deaths linked to electric or motorized scooters since 2018, and seven of those occurred in 2025.
OHA says that e-bikes raise many similar safety concerns as e-scooters. The first full year for which e-bike injuries were coded for reporting was 2023. State data shows 392 reported e-bike injuries that year, 683 in 2024, and 760 in the first nine months of 2025.
“Injuries involving e-bikes and e-scooters share common risk factors—speed, lack of helmet use, roadway design, and interactions with motor vehicles,” Wright said.
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