Michigan has had a long-standing issue with poor road conditions, making infrastructure initiatives a very important subject for Michigan citizens and their representatives.
On March 19, Michigan’s House of Representatives passed a 3.1 billion road funding bill that passed the Republican-dominated House with minimal bipartisan support.
The nine-bill plan introduces a plan that has been agreed by both parties to divert funds from the gas tax. Instead of introducing new taxes, the proposal reallocates over $1 billion from business incentive programs and directs all revenue generated from fuel taxes exclusively toward road improvements.
Speaker of the House Matt Hall of Richland Township highlighted the importance of this bill passing and the positive impact it will have on Michigan’s roads.
“This is going to be one step closer to fixing our local roads all across our cities and counties, all across our state, it’s going to be a great thing today,” Hall said.
Despite this bill being widely celebrated by the Republican party, Democrats have voiced their opposition to the new bill, highlighting the concerns they have regarding funding of education, housing and healthcare.
While the bill doesn’t impose new taxes on Michigan residents, it reallocates existing funds from other budget areas. It mandates that all fuel tax revenue be directed exclusively toward road repairs, which would result in an approximate $700 million reduction in the school aid fund. To offset this, $755 million would be redirected from the general fund to support the school fund. However, many Democrats have concerns.
Democrat Rep. Matt Kolezar emphasized that “the road funding plan that we are looking at today could blow a hole in K-12 funding and can lead to a whole lot of uncertainty in higher education.”
Democratic support was minimal, but a number of Democratic Representatives voted yes on the bill. One of these Democrats was Rep. Jamie Thompson.
“We’re not raising people’s taxes, guys. And we’re not saddening our future generations with additional debt from this plan,” Thompson said. “This is a funding shift with money that we already actually have that’s actually going to address a long-time problem without raising taxes on Michigan citizens.”
In opposition, Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, exclaimed his distaste with the new legislation.
“With this plan, MAGA Matt Hall is committing to raising prices and cutting funding from local communities for law enforcement and housing, not to mention making it harder to get a good-paying job in Michigan. Clearly, MAGA Matt is taking a page out of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s unelected billionaire playbook at Michigan’s expense” Hertel said.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer also proposed redirecting funds from the gas tax in her plan last month. However, unlike the current proposal, her plan would maintain business incentives and generate additional revenue through tax increases on the marijuana industry and large corporations.
Whitmer told 7 News Detroit that she is excited that the “speaker is finally solving the roads or at least having another long-term solution that has eluded us for decades.”
Whitmer further stated that she will be working closely with Michigan’s Senate to achieve goals on both the Republican and Democratic sides.
“After the legislature comes back from spring break, we hope to get the House and Senate together at the negotiating table to hear their ideas for a bipartisan agreement that gets the job done,” Whitmer said.
