Category Archives: Infrastructure

Transportation Funding Hitting Road Blocks in the Senate

Posted on by

The package of bills sent over by the House has hit a road block in the Senate. Democrats are arguing for protection of prevailing wage, the current electoral college system, and the need to provide tax relief for the working poor by reinstating the cuts made in 2011 to the Earned Income Tax Credit. Republican are not united in their approach as some members of their caucus want to raise the gas tax, other want to raise the sales tax, and still other want no new taxes. As this debate plays out some progress was made this week but much more needs to be done if comprehensive solution is going to be realized.

Talks are ongoing among legislative leaders. The League remains hopeful that the legislature will respond to the public outcry to fix Michigan transportation networks and act on the bills before them. We encourage you to reach out to the Senator and Representative from your area and encourage them to vote for a sustainable solution that will return Michigan to a state with strong infrastructure, reliable transit options, and thriving communities.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Transportation Budget Passes Conference Committee

Posted on by

The transportation budget passed out of conference committee this week and did not include new revenue for transportation funding that reflects a comprehensive solution. SB 777 did include $144.5 million in one-time general fund money that would be distributed to MDOT, Counties, and cities and villages. Of the $144.5 million cities and villages will receive $31.5 million in additional funding for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2014. SB 777 also included $1.1 million for the Regional Transit Authority.

A significant amount of work continues to take place around finding a larger solution and the League remains hopeful the legislature will act before they leave for summer break.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Senate Passes Repeal of Annual Certification to MDOT

Posted on by

In December of 2012 Public Act 506 was enacted that required local road agencies to certify the the Michigan Department of Transportation that the had developed and publicized an employee compensation plan or were in compliance with with PA 152 of 2011. The law requires a local road agency to maintain a searchable website accessible by the public at no cost that includes the following: a) current fiscal year budget, b) the number of active transportation employees of the local road agency by job classification and wage rate, c) information on financial performance, d) the names and contact information for the governing body of the local road agency, and e) a copy of the certification mentioned above. Compliance with these provisions needs to take place no later than September 30, 2014.

The League has advocated that certifying to MDOT that we are in compliance with PA 152, which by law we are required to be in compliance with, is redundant, unnecessary, and an inefficient use of time. We have also advocated that the creation of another dashboard is unnecessary because of the public access to our current EVIP dashboards, F65 Forms, audits, and our comprehensive annual financial reports.

As a result Senator Casperson introduced SB 882 that would repeal the provisions section 18j for cities and villages. This bill was take up before the full Senate today and vote out with nearly unanimous support. This bill now moves to the House where we are hopeful that progress will continue to be made and these unnecessary requirements will be repealed before the implementation date of September 30, 2014.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Senate Hopes to Vote on Significant Transportation Funding Increase Next Week

Posted on by

The Senate has adopted a substitute to HB 5477 that would gradually increase the new percentage tax on gasoline over four years from 9.5 percent beginning January 1, 2015, to 11.5% beginning January 1, 2016, and to 13.5 percent beginning January 1, 2017. For the year beginning January 1, 2018, the rate would be increased to 15.5 percent.

The changes to the bill, which repeals current fuel taxes, 19 cents per gallon and 15 cents per gallon on diesel, and replaces them with a percentage tax on the wholesale price, was the most significant change the chamber made to several House and Senate bills whose goal is to increase revenue to improve our transportation system. The House had originally proposed in HB 5477 a rate of 6 percent, a level said to be revenue-neutral.

The Senate is looking to hopefully pass these bills Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

Earlier in the day, the Senate Infrastructure Modernization Committee had reported the bills with only one change to HB 4630, which would remove a provision of current law that offers a 10 percent reduction in registration fees for purchasers of new vehicles over three years. It is estimated that change could yield about $140 million.

Overall the package of bills represent nearly $2 billion in new revenue for our transportation system.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Senate Transportation Committee Votes Out Repeal of Annual Certification to MDOT

Posted on by

In December of 2012 Public Act 506 was enacted that required local road agencies to certify the the Michigan Department of Transportation that the had developed and publicized an employee compensation plan or were in compliance with with PA 152 of 2011. The law requires a local road agency to maintain a searchable website accessible by the public at no cost that includes the following: a) current fiscal year budget, b) the number of active transportation employees of the local road agency by job classification and wage rate, c) information on financial performance, d) the names and contact information for the governing body of the local road agency, and e) a copy of the certification mentioned above. Compliance with these provisions needs to take place no later than September 30, 2014.

The League has advocated that certifying to MDOT that we are in compliance with PA 152, which by law we are required to be in compliance with, is redundant, unnecessary, and an inefficient use of time. We have also advocated that the creation of another dashboard is unnecessary because of the public access to our current EVIP dashboards, F65 Forms, audits, and our comprehensive annual financial reports.

As a result Senator Casperson has introduced SB 882 that would repeal the provisions section 18j for cities and villages. The committee unanimously voted this bill out of committee today. We are committed to working with the legislature to see this bill move forward and are hopeful that it will be voted out of the Senate as soon as next week.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303

Senate Infrastructure Modernization Committee Takes Testimony on Increased Road Funding

Posted on by

This afternoon the Senate Infrastructure Modernization Committee took testimony on a series of bills (HB 4630, 5477, 5493, 5459, SB 6 and 149) that represent another step forward in achieving a sustainable solution to fund Michigan’s transportation network.

These bills would change the tax paid at the pump from a cents per gallon tax to a tax paid on the wholesale price, charge the same tax rate on diesel and gasoline, streamline registration fees, and dedicate the unallocated general fund revenue from sales tax paid at the pump to roads.

The League testified that these bills were another good step forward in solving our funding shortfall but that significant revenue needs to be add. This committee plans to meet again tomorrow morning (5/21) and vote these bills out. It is then anticipated that the Senate will take these bills up on the floor and take the necessary steps to add significant revenue.

We are hopeful that the Senate will increase the funding in this package and we look forward to working with them to ensure that this happens.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

MDOT Accepting Transportation Economic Development Fund Category F Applications for Fiscal Year 2016

Posted on by

The Michigan Department of Transportation Office of Economic Development is will begin accepting Transportation Economic Development Fund Category F applications for Fiscal Year 2016 on April 15. Eligible applicants include cities, villages and county road commissions.  Proposed projects must be on federal-aid designated routes within a Federal Adjusted Census Urban Boundary located in a county with a population of 400,000 or less. Higher consideration is given to applications that propose improving all-season capabilities on routes having high commercial traffic or those that improve access to state trunklines.

The application deadline for Category F grants is Friday June 30, 2014. The application and instructions can be accessed at http://www.michigan.gov/tedf. For questions, please contact Matt Wiitala at 517-241-2152 or wiitalam@michigan.gov

The following is a link to a flyer about the Category F grants. Category F Economic Development Flyers

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Aviation Fuel Tax Bills Voted Out of Senate Finance Committee

Posted on by

The week the Senate Committee on Finance voted out HB 4571, HB 4572, and HB 4677. These bill would exempt aviation fuel from sales tax and change the tax paid on aviation fuel to a tax paid on the wholesale price. As a result more money is put into the state aeronautics fund, a tax break is provided to large consumer of aviation fuel, particularly Delta Airlines, and $7 million in constitutionally protected revenue that goes to our local communities is eliminated and back-filled with General Fund revenue.

While it is important that these bills replaced the revenue lost from the sales tax exemption, the League testified in opposition to these bills because they erode the guaranteed funding we are provided under the constitution and subjected those funds to an annual appropriation.

The League supports changing the language to the House passed version because they did not impact local revenues and we will be advocating to restore that language.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

House Sends Transportation Funding Bills to the Senate.

Posted on by

The House today voted out ten bills that represent another step forward in providing additional funding for our transportation system. These bills would eliminate the gas tax paid at the pump and instead charge a 6% tax on the wholesale price. They would ensure taxes paid on diesel are equal to those paid on gasoline. The Secretary of State would be required to streamline registration fees, and overweight truck permits and fines are increased. These bills also includes efficiency measures to increase competitive bidding done by the Department of Transportation, and would require warranties on construction and preservation projects over $1 million dollars.

The League has been successful in having amendments added to these bills to protect our locals ability to fix their crumbling infrastructure. We will continue to advocate for further changes to improve on the package passed by the House.

There has been very positive news coming out of the Senate that they want to find a comprehensive solution to fix our transportation network. The League recognizes that the funding solution passed by the House is not a comprehensive solution, but it does represent the most progress made on this issue in many years. We have begun discussion with key members of the Senate to ensure that any solution represents a full solution for the transportation needs of this state. Based on early indications, we are hopefully that the Senate will take the necessary steps to finding this solution.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Road Funding Bills Passed Out of House Committee

Posted on by

The House Transportation and Tax Policy committees voted out a series of bills today that represent the first step in securing more road funding for our local communities. Each of the bills received bipartisan support, but the acknowledgement still remains that there is more work to be done.

This is the first real step taken by the legislature to come up with a solution to fix our infrastructure. Changes are still needed to these bill to ensure that they represent a comprehensive solution for the transportation needs of this state. The League continues to work with leadership, the sponsors, and other interest groups to improve these bills.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate for the League handling transportation and infrastructure issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.