Oregon Republicans opened Friday’s special legislative session with a proposal of their own to prevent hundreds of layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation and avoid raising taxes, by instead redirecting existing money earmarked for pedestrian and bike safety programs and for fighting climate change.

The proposal, near-identical to one party leaders floated during the recent long session that wrapped in June, fires back at a plan from Gov. Tina Kotek and Democratic leaders to raise $5.8 billion in revenue for the shrinking agency during the next decade through an increase to gas and payroll taxes, and vehicle licensing and registration fees.

Democrats flatly rejected the Republican proposal in the formal legislative session, and failed to convince Republicans and some of their

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