Michigan House passes road funding plan with bipartisan support
After passing in the Michigan House with bipartisan support, Republican lawmakers are bringing their road funding plan to the Senate floor, with the hopes of getting it to the governor's desk as soon as possible.
"We all agree, unilaterally, that the roads need work. We need money, and we have a shortage of funds," said Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township.
Finding a long-term solution to fix Michigan's roads is a top priority for lawmakers like Steele, the chair of the state and local Transportation Budget Subcommittee, and one of the sponsors of the funding plan that passed through the state house with bipartisan support.
"Everybody knows that we need to do something because you have everybody in this upward momentum to repair the roads, and the minute that you cut off funding, you drop," said Steele.
On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Appropriations heard testimony on how the plan hopes to raise $3 billion more a year to do it, without having most of the money come from imposing new taxes and fees on businesses.
Steele says the funding plan makes that possible if lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can direct the money Michiganders already pay into repairing the roads.
"We can do it without having you pay more into the system than you've already paid for your entire life," said Steele.
On a local level, organizations like the Road Commission for Oakland County say the passage of the funding plan would have a significant impact.
"We repair as many roads as we can, but more roads sink into poor condition than we can repair every year, and that's not a place we want to go back to," said road commission spokesperson Craig Bryson.
With more than a million residents under their care, Bryson says their county feels the effects of poor road quality up close. Their work is funded primarily by the state through the current gas tax and vehicle registration fees.
He says the plan's passage would give his teams the funds they need to be able to do their jobs.
"It is the only significant source of funding that we get to repair the roads. So, without that money, without Lansing doing its part, we will not be able to maintain the roads in Oakland County," said Bryson.
After its first reading, the bill package will undergo another two rounds of chamber and committee hearings before coming to a vote.
