Great Lakes Wire

House Speaker Matt Hall's $3.1 billion road funding proposal advanced through the House, securing more than 60 votes for each bill in the package. The plan did not include the new revenue sought by Democrats.

The proposal reallocates $2.1 billion from the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) to road funding and introduces a motor fuel tax to replace the sales tax on motor fuel, adding another $945 million. To offset the resulting General Fund shortfall, funds will be redirected from various sources including a projected surplus and reductions in budget earmarks.

Speaker Hall emphasized that essential services would remain unaffected: "We’re not cutting any essential services. You have my commitment," stated Pat Outman, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

However, Democratic opposition remains strong. Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri criticized the absence of new revenue streams: “Robbing Peter to pay Paul. It’s not the way to do it,” he commented. Rep. Noah Arbit echoed this sentiment with his remark on reallocating funds without clear identification of cuts: “It’s not robbing Peter to pay Paul, it’s robbing Peter and Paul, and Mary’s already dead.”

Despite these concerns, Hall defended sending bills lacking new revenue measures to the Senate by noting historical support gaps for past proposals like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 2019 fuel tax hike suggestion.

Hall mentioned backing from groups such as the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association for his current package and expressed confidence in garnering municipal support during upcoming Senate deliberations.

With potential budgetary impacts still under discussion, Hall speculated about future negotiations with Senate Appropriations Chair Sarah Anthony: “Do you think Winnie Brinks wants to negotiate...I’ll do that if she’ll agree to it.” He remained optimistic about resolving outstanding issues within existing resources through what he termed "responsible budgeting."

The legislative vote breakdown showed varying bipartisan support across different bills within this road funding initiative.