As most of you have probably read or heard by now, legislative leaders and the Governor have agreed to move forward with the state budget without a significant road funding plan in place. The Michigan constitution requires the legislature and Governor to pass a balanced budget each year by October 1. As lawmakers and the Governor have yet to come together on a road funding plan, and October 1 creeps closer and closer, it was determined that work on the budget and road funding will be done separately.
This is disappointing news, as the Governor’s proposal would have raised the necessary revenues and constitutionally protected them to go towards transportation in Michigan. Other plans have been floated throughout the summer, some good and some bad, and hopefully those ideas will continue to get vetted by the legislature and things will continue to move forward with this issue.
Legislative leaders and the Governor have promised to continue the negotiations on a comprehensive road funding plan. At this time we do not know when negotiations on transportation funding will reconvene, though this issue is not going away. Michigan voters continue to rank fixing Michigan’s roads and bridges as their number one priority in the state, and it’s not hard to see that overall road conditions are not improving. We anticipate that pressure will continue to build on lawmakers as they finalize the budget and work through the fall.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at mikenystrom@thinkmita.org or Lance Binoniemi, Vice President of Government Affairs, at lancebinoniemi@thinkmita.org. They both can be reached at (517) 347-8336.
