Why does Oregon have to be the first state to experiment with a new fee on mileage to replace the gas tax?
Historically, Oregon hasn’t shied away from solving tough issues just because there wasn’t another state model for comparison. In fact, Oregon was the first state to implement a gas tax in 1919 in order to pay for the building of the state’s first statewide public road system. Oregon’s traditional way of finding solutions is to face problems and work ahead of time to resolve them. That’s the purpose of testing a road user fee.
