LANSING – Unless the Department of Transportation turns over revenue data on how much money the tolls from a new Detroit River International Crossing would generate, the Senate will not vote on the legislation, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop said Wednesday.

And in another development, Sen. Jim Barcia (D-Bay City) said he is leaning against the new bridge legislation, making him the third Senate Democrat to say he is either going to vote against DRIC or leaning against doing so. In total, 13 senators from both parties have told Gongwer News Service they are either leaning against the legislation (HB 4961 ) or will definitely vote against it.

The dispute surrounds the traffic study that MDOT provided to the Legislature in May about bridge traffic. Republican senators think that study should have included revenue data on tolls, but Transportation Director Kirk Steudle said he complied with the “letter of the law” in giving out the traffic data only. Steudle said publicly releasing the revenue data would worsen the state’s negotiating position when hiring a concessionaire to participate in the public-private partnership that would oversee the new bridge.

But Bishop scoffed at that position.

“Our members don’t have the information they need to make an educated decision and until they have it, there will be no vote,” he said. “We have a responsibility to ensure that whatever we’re doing makes sense. I’d say this is probably the most important piece of information we could have. I have a real problem with the department telling me they want to conceal information when it’s essential information for the Legislature to make an educated decision.”

At a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Transportation Committee on the issue, Steudle said he is willing to share the revenue information with senators – if they keep the information private. After the meeting, he said he had made the offer to Sen. Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac), the Transportation Committee chair, but no agreement had been made.

“We are working on a way to provide that information to them,” Steudle said.

Mr. Gilbert said some senators think the information should be public.

Another hearing on the bill will come next week. The main entity yet to testify is the Detroit International Bridge Company, which owns the rival Ambassador Bridge and fiercely opposes DRIC.

Gilbert said he remains undecided on the legislation although he said he has heard encouraging information in the testimony so far that the state will not be on the hook financially if the public-private partnership collapses.

Barcia said he is still listening to the arguments from bridge supporters, but remains concerned about Michigan taxpayers having to cover any shortfalls created by insufficient tolls.

“I question whether we can afford the financing at this time, particularly when you have a private citizen who’s willing to take on the risk,” he said, referring to Manuel “Matty” Moroun, the owner of the Ambassador Bridge who wants to build a second span next to the existing Ambassador. “I’ll listen to everybody, but I’m not excited about it.”

Reminded of the Canadian government’s pledge to pay for the $550 million in upfront costs Michigan otherwise would have had to provide, Barcia said, “It’s a loan. It’s not a grant. If the tolls are not sufficient, the state will have to pay off the bond.”

DRIC supporters have disputed that analysis, with the Canadian government saying any initial shortfalls would simply be capitalized, an accounting mechanism that allows an entity to reclassify an expense as a long-term asset and then repaid later on. Long-term shortfalls would be the responsibility of the lender that provides the financing, DRIC officials have said.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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