The incoming Republican state House leader has called for redirecting revenue from Michigan’s corporate income tax and sales tax on fuel to road repairs. House Speaker-elect Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) called on Democrats to adopt the plan before adjourning for the year.
The taxes he’s targeting currently help fund schools, but Hall said cuts to K-through-12 funding are not on the table. He said eliminating corporate subsidies and tapping into revenue growth to the state General Fund is the answer.
“Let’s just dedicate the money to the things the people want and then they can go fight about the less-popular things and make their case and some of it will get funded and some of it won’t,” he said Monday at a press conference.
The proposal would use existing revenue streams from the corporate income tax and gas pump taxes paid by motorists to raise $2.7 billion for roads. Hall said it would require the Legislature to reprioritize spending from less urgent – or politically popular – priorities.
“These are all competing interests,” he said. “I mean, wouldn’t it be great if we could do everything? But we can’t. We have to set priorities. That’s what this government has been missing the last two years especially. I’m just saying that roads is a higher priority than giving the money to corporations. Who needs it more?”
Hall said Democrats should make the plan a lame duck priority or it’s at the top of his list for the new session that begins in January, when the House will flip from a slim Democratic majority to a slim Republican majority.
And, just as many measures required bipartisan support in the past two years, this road funding plan would require the same.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer and House Speaker Joe Tate both released statements saying they are ready to negotiate.
“We agree on the need for a long-term funding solution, and Governor Whitmer will work with anyone who is serious about getting things done,” said Whitmer Press Secretary Stacey LaRouche.
“Let’s have that conversation,” said Tate (D-Detroit), who announced he will step down as the Democratic leader after Republicans won House control in November.
“I’m glad to see that Rep. Hall is thinking about road and transportation funding – I am more than happy to have a discussion with him about smart, bipartisan solutions to repair, upkeep and improve Michigan’s infrastructure.”
