Gov. Tina Kotek’s proposal to raise billions for road maintenance and public transit in the coming decade advanced by the barest of margins Monday.

The Oregon House passed House Bill 3991 by a vote of 36-12, the minimum number of yes votes required to approve the suite of tax increases the governor has put forward.

The vote means that a special session Kotek called in order to avert laying off hundreds of state employees is a step closer to completion, after initially being plagued by delay and gridlock . That movement wouldn’t have been possible Monday without Republican help.

State Rep. Cyrus Javadi, R-Tillamook, crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats on the package, rescuing the bill from what would have been an ignominious defeat. Javadi, a moderate maverick who sided with Democ

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