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News Release Eugene Gas Tax Referendum Fails to Qualify for November Ballot <br /> July 12, 2007 <br /> Page 2 <br /> In the first sampling by Lane County Elections, 10% of the total signatures submitted for <br /> verification, or 1,043 signatures, were examined. That sample required 637 valid signatures for <br /> the petition to be accepted. Lane County Elections determined that only 561 signatures <br /> qualified, so a second sampling was required under state law. The second sample required <br /> 1,044 signatures to be verified and 718 of them to be valid. Late this afternoon, Lane County <br /> Elections notified Eugene's city recorder that the second sampling contained only 571 valid <br /> signatures and that the petition had failed to qualify for the ballot. <br /> At this point, the chief petitioners have the option to file a prospective initiative petition to <br /> propose legislation on the gas tax for voters to approve or reject. A total of 9,548 valid <br /> signatures are required to place an initiative on the ballot in Eugene. <br /> According to Public Works spokesman Eric Jones, the determination by election officials <br /> means the gas tax ordinance will be implemented as directed by Council, and the City will <br /> arrange with the Oregon Department of Transportation to begin collecting the local motor <br /> vehicle fuel tax at 8 cents per gallon at Eugene gas stations beginning August 1. <br /> "The motor vehicle fuel tax is one component of a package of solutions adopted by the <br /> City Council that will collectively provide an ongoing, adequate, locally-controlled revenue <br /> stream to meet Eugene's transportation funding needs," Jones said. Eugene's pavement <br /> preservation program is funded primarily by the local motor vehicle fuel tax. Since the gas tax <br /> <br /> first was established in 2003, almost 125 lane miles on more than 75 streets will have been <br /> repaired through Eugene's pavement preservation program, Jones said. <br /> <br />