It’s no revelation when state Reps. Jason Kropf and Emerson Levy agree. When they spoke on Saturday to constituents at the Downtown Bend Public Library, they both said transportation and roads and how to pay for them are going to be a top issue in the next legislative session.

“Transportation is going to be one of the top two, three, four or five things that we are going to tackle in the 2025 session,” Kropf said.

“Are we going to do a vehicle miles traveled for cars?” Levy added.

The only options Kropf and Levy mentioned in terms of paying for the state’s transportation needs were some sort of charge-by-the-mile tax and tolling. That doesn’t mean they are the only options for legislators or the only options that Levy and Kropf would consider. But we doubt anyone will be surprised if that is where the focus in 2025 will be.

Increasing tolling in Oregon has been on a policy roller coaster. One minute it seems like it might be used and the next, it’s stalled. When the Oregon Department of Transportation issued its annual “debt report” in January it was clearly counting on tolling to help finance projects like Interstate 205 improvements and a bridge between Oregon and Washington. Then Gov. Tina Kotek put a hold on tolling.

Kropf wondered how tolling could be done equitably.

“How do you do that for people who live on lower wages?” he said. “We haven’t cracked the code on that.”

Any debate about transportation is not only going to be about where the money comes from but also how it should be spent. When ODOT and the Legislature don’t find means to fund the big projects over in the Willamette Valley, it means the revenue will get sucked away from projects in Central and Eastern Oregon. You may not worry so much about highways and bridges in Portland. What happens with their funding can shape what happens to projects here.

Kropf and Levy also dipped into a discussion about partisanship and how the Legislature can repeat the success of the 2024 session and avoid more walkouts.

“It’s a choice,” Levy said. “If you go in saying I am just going to stick with my party. I am going to keep my mind closed. I am going to only care about my base…. Or do you go in with an open mind and decide I am going to try to reach across the aisle.”

Kropf and Levy are both Democrats. Kropf’s district is Bend. Levy’s includes north Bend, south Redmond, Tumalo, Sisters, Eagle Crest and Black Butte.

If you want an opportunity to ask Kropf and Levy questions yourself, the Bend Chamber of Commerce is hosting an event on Wednesday that will also feature Republican state Sen. Tim Knopp of Bend. More information about that here: tinyurl.com/Bendlegislators. It does cost money to get in, $30 for chamber members at the door, $45 for non-members at the door.