On Thursday, February 26, 2015 the Michigan State Board of Canvassers approved the official language that will be placed before voters on May 5. Overall the language accurately describes what the voting public will be putting into place with a yes vote. The process of getting ballot language officially approved is a very long one and the Safe Roads Yes campaign worked extremely hard to get appropriate language in place. There is a restriction of 100 words or less and with the various moving pieces tied to the proposal, including legislation to increase funding, many different opinions were considered in the draft language.
The official language is attached below. As with most proposals, there is a brief description followed by several bullet points to give more details. Within the bullet points are many fair and positive points, the very first one leading with eliminate sales / use taxes on gasoline. The Safe Roads Yes campaign argued many of these points and was successful in getting them included in the official language. Some of the groups opposing the ballot measure had very different suggestions on what should be placed before the voters.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com or Lance Binoniemi, Vice President of Government Affairs, at lancebinoniemi@mi-ita.com.
PROPOSAL 15-1
A proposal to amend the State Constitution to increase the sales/use tax from 6% to 7% to replace and supplement reduced revenue to the School Aid Fund and local units of government caused by the elimination of the sales/use tax on gasoline and diesel fuel for vehicles operating on public roads, and to give effect to laws that provide additional money for roads and other transportation purposes by increasing the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.
The proposed constitutional amendment would:
Eliminate sales / use taxes on gasoline / diesel fuel for vehicles on public roads.
Increase portion of use tax dedicated to School Aid Fund (SAF).
Expand use of SAF to community colleges and career / technical education, and prohibit use for 4-year colleges / universities.
Give effect to laws, including those that:
– Increase sales / use tax to 7%, as authorized by constitutional amendment.
– Increase gasoline / diesel fuel tax and adjust annually for inflation, increase vehicle registration fees, and dedicate revenue for roads and other transportation purposes.
– Expand competitive bidding and warranties for road projects.
– Increase earned income tax credit.
Should this proposal be adopted?
YES [ ]
NO [ ]
