The organizers behind a proposed 2020 ballot measure that could undercut Oregon’s plan to toll sections of Interstate 5 and 205 said this week they are ready to start gathering signatures.

The ballot measure, designated as Initiative Petition 10, is the brainchild of Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, former legislator Julie Parrish and Les Poole, a Gladstone planning commissioner.

The trio gained certainty last month about the proposed ballot language when the Oregon Supreme Court dismissed a challenge from the nonprofit Our Oregon, which says it stands for “economic and social fairness for all Oregonians.”

Parrish said with the Legislature in session and the ballot language fight in the rearview mirror, the timing is right to start a campaign in earnest. Organizers need to collect 149,360 signatures by June 2020 to qualify for the November ballot. They launched a retooled website this week.

Parrish, the former West Linn lawmaker who was the architect of Measure 101 -- the failed attempt to undo the state’s Medicaid funding package approved in spring 2017 -- said she had no problem collecting 90,000 signatures in 90 days then.

“I feel like we’ve got some time to get it done,” she said of the tolling proposal, while adding she was ready to get those signatures submitted sooner so can she could move on to potential ballot fights involving public pension reform and legislative redistricting.

“It’s really important for us to get this to the ballot,” she said.

The initiative calls for amending the state’s constitution to require that certain transportation fees or tolls be approved by both state and county voters unless the projects represent “net new capacity” on the freeway. That is defined as any expansion of the transportation infrastructure which did not exist before January 2018 and wasn’t already built and operated by public dollars.

If the measure hits the ballot, a yes vote would result in tolling plans headed to the statewide and county ballots unless “net new capacity” is included. It’s unclear whether a new bridge without additional travel lanes would qualify as “net new capacity.”

A no vote at the ballot box would keep the status quo.

Oregon formally sought federal approval in December to toll sections of I-5 extending through North Portland and I-205 on and around the Abernethy Bridge spanning the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn. The state is planning to charge drivers to use the freeway as a way to manage congestion.

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This month, the state received a response from federal transportation officials that both projects would “likely” be eligible for federal approval. The proposal to raise toll revenue for a new or seismically retrofitted Abernethy Bridge is a virtual slam dunk under federal rules, which say tolling can be used as a way to raise money for bridges, highways or tunnels.

But the plan to charge drivers to use a several mile lone section of I-5 was “a little bit more of a stretch,” according to Travis Brouwer, Oregon Department of Transportation deputy director.

It’s rare for tolling projects to pay for existing infrastructure without adding lanes, but the state received strong signs from the federal government that their proposal had merit.

While the precise amount and structure of tolls are undetermined, Oregon is expected to charge drivers a fee that would vary depending on the level of traffic, time of day and day of the week.

The state has stressed the tolling plan is not a done deal and the next few years will include many public meetings and opportunities for residents to weigh in on any proposal.

Despite tolls being years away, the vote on the tolls ballot measure could put those plans in jeopardy.

Nearman, the Republican legislator, said the ballot doesn’t preclude tolls but organizers believe it’s important for voters to have their say if there is no plan to expand capacity. “Special interest groups see tolls, and they see dollar signs for all other manner of projects they want to fund or was to supplant toll revenues to pay for things like PERS,” he said in a statement. “We believe if drivers are going to pay a toll to drive, it should be for new lanes, and the money can’t be swept to other projects or government obligations that don’t benefit the people who are paying road tolls.”

According to state records, the campaign has $350 in contributions so far.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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