The Oregon Legislature this week approved a $300 million per year transportation package designed to upgrade roads statewide, create new capacity, and loosen bottlenecks that currently cost businesses time and money. The move was applauded by the Oregon Association of Nurseries as an important step towards helping growers move their goods to market. The improvements in House Bill 2001-B (HTML|PDF) will be funded mainly by higher gas taxes and increased registration fees. The Oregon House passed the bill 38-22 earlier this week, and the Oregon Senate passed it today, 24-6. Now all it needs is the governor’s signature. Gov. Ted Kulongoski has said he supports it despite the earmarking of specific projects, which he previously had opposed. The bill calls for less spending than Kulongoski originally proposed back in November.