Category Archives: Road funding

Conference Committee Finalizes $400 Million in General Fund Spending on Roads

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The House and Senate conference committee on transportation today approved a $400 million contribution from the General Fund to go towards road fixes. Approximately $140 million will be used to ensure that the state can match all available federal aid highway funds. The remaining $240 million will be distributed to MDOT, county road commissions, and cities and villages. This is different from General Fund spending in each of the last two years when legislator we allowed to select projects throughout the state.

As a result of this budget agreement Cities and villages will receive and additional $56.8 million in FY 16. We will provide the breakdown of these additional dollars when they are available. Although more funding is being provided it still falls far short of the revenue needed and the Legislature cannot sustain the practice of one-time funding for a road fix long term.

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

Committee Hearings Begin on House Transportation Proposal

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The newly formed Roads and Economic Development committee held the first of three committee hearings this morning on a package of bills introduced by House Republicans to fix Michigan’s crumbling roads.

HB 4610 allows townships contributing greater than 50% to a road project over $50,000 to require competitive bidding and the League has no position on this legislation due to it having no direct impact on our communities.

HB 4611 would require competitive bidding on all MDOT and local road projects over $100,000, and HB 4613 would require MDOT and local road agencies to secure warranties for projects over $1 million. We are currently opposed to these two bills as part of this package. The League believes we must find a sustainable long-term solution to the problem that includes new revenue that is dedicated to the entire transportation system.

The proposed package of bills only has $50 million in new revenue with the remaining billion coming from reprioritizing General Fund spending and projected growth. It neglects to make a much need investment in transit and jeopardizes economic development funding many of our communities benefit from. This plan impacts the long-term certainty our communities need to plan and one of the key factors for our opposition.

The League is committed to working with the legislature towards a long term solution and we are hopeful that solution can found sooner rather than later.

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

 

Speaker Cotter Unveils House Republican Transportation Solutions

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At a press conference this afternoon Speaker Kevin Cotter released the House Republican transportation plan. The highlights are below.

  • This plan will generate $1.05 billion for transportation
  • $700 million from the General Fund
  • $185 million from Reprioritizing Restricted Funds
  • $162 million from Tax Fairness
  • Reforms and Efficiencies

General Fund: The $700 million the Speaker is proposing will come from expected future growth in revenues and additional anticipated revenue available based on the upcoming Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference. This portion of the plan lacked specifics so it is yet to be determined what impact this would have on the state budget moving forward but the Speaker said he would be able to do this without making cuts.

Reprioritizing Restricted Funds: Of the $185 million, $75 million will come from tobacco settlement dollars currently in the 21st Century Jobs Fund, $60 million from the states tribal gaming compact, and $50 million from eliminating the film tax credit.

Tax Fairness: The Speaker will achieve the projected $162 million through the creation of tax fairness by eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit and using that $117 million for roads. The remaining $45 million will come from diesel parody and increased fees on electric and hybrid vehicles.

Reforms and Efficiencies: The plan will require competitive bidding on all MDOT and local road projects over $100,000, require MDOT and local road agencies to secure warranties for projects over $1 million, and allow townships contributing greater than 50% to a road project over $50,000 to require competitive bidding.

Other highlights in this plan include a phase in over four year with $522 million going to roads in FY 16, $697 million in FY 17, $872 million in FY 18, $1.05 billion in FY 19 and beyond. All of the new money would only be sent to MDOT, Counties, and Cities and Villages. None of the new money would go to transit operations. The current gas tax will remain at 19 cents but would be tied to inflation under this plan. A copy of the document Speaker Cotter provided can be found at the following link. House Republican Road Funding Plan

As the League gathers more details on this plan in the coming days we will be sure to update you with any new information.

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

Proposal 1 Offers Michigan’s Last, Best Chance to Fix Roads with Guaranteed Funding

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John LaMacchia discusses Proposal 1 at a recent Burton City Council town hall meeting.

John LaMacchia discusses Proposal 1 at a recent Burton City Council town hall meeting.

The fate of Proposal 1 will be decided by voters next week (Tuesday, May 5), and there is one thing guaranteed about the outcome: If it passes it will provide a solution to fix Michigan’s crumbling infrastructure and will guarantee funding for transportation, local government, schools. And if it fails? No one can guarantee a solution out of the state Legislature.

That’s the simple message from the Michigan Municipal League’s John LaMacchia, legislative associate, in his many speaking engagements, media interviews and community meetings about Proposal 1 in recent days, weeks and months. LaMacchia has been the League’s voice on Proposal 1 after the League board unanimously endorsed the road funding package in January.

“The one thing that those for and against Proposal 1 agree on is the longer we take to come up with a transportation funding plan, the worse are roads are going to get,” LaMacchia said.

If Proposal 1 passes, it would guarantee, for the first time, that every penny we pay in state fuel taxes goes to transportation.

Bad-bridge-small-for-webLansing would no longer be able to divert taxes paid on gas to some other state program or service.

Here is some additional information about what Proposal 1 would do:

Ballot Proposal:

  • Raises the sales tax from 6% to 7%
  • Exempts sales tax from motor fuel
  • Removes higher education funding from the School Aid Fund
  • Dedicates a portion of the use tax to K-12 education

Statutory Changes Effective Only if Proposal 1 Passes:

  • Increases the tax charged on motor fuel
  • Eliminates the depreciation on vehicle registration fees
  • Increase registration fees on the heaviest trucks
  • Requires more competitive bidding and road warranties
  • Restores the Earned Income Tax Credit to 20% of the federal level

Revenue Generated:

We would fix more roads instead of just fill potholes if Proposal 1 passes May 5.

We would fix more roads instead of just fill potholes if Proposal 1 passes May 5.

Fixing our roads will make them safer by repairing dangerous potholes and improving roadway design. Today, many drivers swerve to avoid dangerous potholes or lose control of their vehicles as a result of flat tires.

According to TRIP, a national transportation research organization, roadway design is a contributing factor in about one-third of fatal traffic crashes. Between 2008 and 2012, 4,620 people died in Michigan car accidents – an average of 924 fatalities per year.

For more information about Proposal 1 go to the League’s Safe Roads Yes! webpage.

To learn more about the Safe Road Yes! campaign go here. View here a series of question and answer videos about Proposal 1. Check out what MML members have to say about Proposal 1. See how much your community will get in additional road dollars and constitutional revenue sharing if Proposal 1 is approved. View which Michigan communities have passed resolutions in support of Proposal 1.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org. The League’s John LaMacchia can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org.

MDOT Accepting Transportation Economic Development Fund Category F Applications

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The Michigan Department of Transportation Office of Economic Development is currently accepting Transportation Economic Development Fund Category F applications for Fiscal Year 2017. Eligible applicants include cities, villages and county road commissions. Proposed projects must be on federal-aid designated routes within federal aid urban areas located in a county with a population of 400,000 or fewer. 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 Monday June 1, 2015. 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.

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