Two months of summer relaxation have done little to cool the debate over how the state should pay for road maintenance.

Oregon lawmakers on Monday picked up exactly where they left off in late June, meeting in Salem to take up a high-profile bill that would hike taxes to pay for its transportation system.

The details have changed since June 27, when Democrats’ massive and ambitious transportation package collapsed under its own weight. In front of the Legislature now is a proposal from Gov. Tina Kotek that would raise about half as much money via increases to taxes and fees paid by Oregon motorists and workers in order to pour hundreds of millions more into road and bridge upkeep.

Beyond the bill’s scope, little has changed.

The proposal, which will be taken up in a special session beg

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