As legislative leaders and Governor Snyder put the finishing touches on the 2018 – 2019 state budget, an agreement was reached this week to add an additional $400 million into infrastructure funding, $330 million of which will go directly into the state transportation budget. The money would go through the P.A. 51 formula, meaning 39% of the money will go to MDOT, 39% of the money will go to county road commissions, and 22% will go to cities and townships.
Recognizing that fixing our infrastructure is the top priority for Michigan residents, the agreement comes after economists projected that the state had $500 million more than they expected for this fiscal year and next fiscal year, due to updated revenue estimates. The other $100 million plus is to go towards education and the state’s rainy day fund. Final details on the additional $70 million for infrastructure were not readily available at the time of this bulletin, but the Governor’s new Infrastructure Council will need some start up money to get things developed, and there are a number of underground infrastructure needs that could also be the focus of that additional money.
According to the state Budget Office, this week’s action means the state is putting $1 billion in new money towards the roads. As we ramp up to full implementation of the 2015 road funding package that totals $1.2 billion in additional funding annually, money is being diverted from the General Fund towards transportation quicker than the legislation requires. By 2021, $600 million of General Fund money will be dedicated towards our transportation budget every year moving forward.
Decisions on how MDOT and the locals will use the additional funds will be made over the next several months, as the new money will be appropriated at the beginning of the fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2018.
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.
