Michigan House Passes Roads Plan
The nine-bill package or the 600-600 plan, as it’s called, passed Oct. 21 with little Democratic support and is far from assured in being approved by the Republican-run Senate or signed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who wants to transfer no more than $400 million from the general fund.
House Speaker Kevin Cotter called the plan "a huge step forward” and warned that the House might well have serious issues if the Senate produces a very different version.
"I'll never say it's our way or the highway, but changes to this plan will make it very, very difficult to get passed here again," Cotter said.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof prefers the so-called 400-400-400 proposal that raises $1.2 billion via $400 million each from increased fuel taxes, increased registration fees and a transfer from the general fund.
Sara Wurfel, a spokeswoman for Snyder, termed the bill’s passage “forward progress" but added that the governor favors “a solution [that’s] fiscally responsible and viable, and doesn't inadvertently jeopardize the state's comeback.”
The House plan includes a diesel tax hike of 7.3 cents per gallon and a 40% increase in truck registration fees, which would raise the levy for an 80,000-pound tractor trailer to well more than $2,000.
Michigan Trucking Association Executive Director Walt Heinritzi doesn’t expect the House bill to be the final product in the saga of trying to fix the state’s roads that has lasted for more than three years.
“We are not necessarily supportive of shifting general fund dollars to highway purposes,” Heinritzi said. “In Michigan, it’s always been our tradition to have highway users pay for highways. We use Michigan’s roads and as good corporate citizens, we feel we have an obligation to help pay for those roads.
"We support a diesel fuel tax increase. The thing that sticks in my craw is the 40%increase in truck registration fees, which has not been on the table before. It’s excessive, and we’re going to do whatever we can to eliminate or reduce that. Registration fees don’t necessarily reflect actual highway use.”
