Part of a plan to dedicate a portion of the
sales and use tax towards road construction and repair was reviewed by the
House Tax Policy Committee on Wednesday. The bills, HB
5492 and 5459,
were also reviewed during committee on Thursday, but will not be voted on until
next week.
HB
5492 would reallocate 1 percent of the use tax from the General Fund to the
state Trunkline Fund. HB
5459 would dedicate all sales tax revenue garnered from fuel sales that is
not currently earmarked for schools or local government to the State Trunkline
Fund. The bills would redirect $239.2 million and $130 million respectively in
fiscal year 2014-2015.
The plan has received support from the County
Roads Association of Michigan (CRAM) and the Michigan Infrastructure and
Transportation Association, while it was opposed by the Michigan Association of
Counties. All groups, however, agreed that a more comprehensive solution would
have to be made in the future. Ed Noyola of the County Roads Association of
Michigan said between $2.1 and $2.5 billion is needed in the state to fix the
roads.