Exactly one month after they convened to pass a road funding bill, Oregon Democrats finally crossed the finish line Monday.

The state Senate passed a package of tax and fee increases proposed by Gov. Tina Kotek by an 18-11 party-line vote — the bare minimum support to pass a tax increase.

That result relied on the presence of state Sen. Chris Gorsek, a Gresham Democrat who had been unable to make it to the Capitol throughout September. Gorsek was hospitalized last month with complications following a recent surgery. He was pushed into the Senate chamber in a wheelchair to vote Monday, but left the room during lengthy debates over the proposal.

The passage of Kotek’s funding package, House Bill 3991, offers a lifeline to hundreds of employees at the Oregon Department of Transportation th

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