Senate Passes Transportation Funding Package

The Senate passed their 8-bill transportation funding package Wednesday, with a little help from Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley. House Bill 4615 and HB 4616 passed the chamber on a 20-19 vote, with the tie-breaking vote coming from the Lieutenant Governor. Nine Republican Senators voted against the two bills, joining all of their Democratic colleagues except Senator Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) who broke party lines in support of the bills.

House Bill 4615 would increase the gas tax and create diesel fuel parity, raising the gas tax from 19 cents to 23 cents on October 1, 27 cents on January 1, 2016, and 34 cents on January 1, 2017. This regimented increase is slightly different than the original plan passed out of committee, which was a five-cent increase occurring on the same dates. The bill underwent a second change on the floor, which created the “50 year roads task force”, an internal group in the Michigan Department of Transportation who would evaluate the costs of road construction projects. The Department of Treasury would also see the implementation of a 50-year lock box fund, where 7 cents of the 15-cent raise would be kept and only released at the will of the legislature.

Senate Bill 414, which would dedicate $700 million of income tax money to transportation funding and create a system for diminishing the income tax with the end goal of eliminating the tax, was a bill that was also hotly debated. Its final passage was by a 27-11 split with Senator Virgil Smith again voting with his Republican colleagues in support, while Senator James Marleau (R-Lake Orion) voted against the measure.

One controversial bill, HB 4609, did not see a vote in the Senate. The bill would eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit, and while it is an issue of hot debate, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) said he expects to take the legislation up at a later date. All told the Senate transportation plan would dedicate $1.5 billion annually to the repair and maintenance to Michigan roads.

posted by PAA Online , Thursday, July 2, 2015 12:11 PM
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