The Michigan Department of Transportation budget was approved today and sent to the governor for her signature. The bill assures that Michigan will not lose our $475 million in federal match money by borrowing $40 million for one year, but the Legislature has once again kicked the can down the road and put off any solution to another day. Click here for an analysis of the final budget.
Even with the full federal match, the MDOT road and bridge program is off by roughly one-third from 2007 levels; and, state policymakers exacerbated the challenges for next year by taking out a one-year bond to pay for the immediate federal shortfall.
Mike Nystrom, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, today issued the following statement regarding the Legislature’s passage of the MDOT budget:
“The Michigan Department of Transportation budget, as approved by the Legislature today, is not a solution to our transportation funding crisis. It is a short-term, quick fix that allows the state to meet our federal matching requirement by borrowing $40 million. But, even with the full federal match, the transportation budget is off by over 35 percent from three years ago. The Legislature has kicked the can down the road for finding a sustainable transportation funding solution; and, they have inflated the challenges of finding revenue next year by borrowing in order to come up with our state match.”
