LANSING – Michigan Senate officials
say an agreement on their version of road funding is not imminent, but a number
of sources said a proposal that would include new revenues along with cuts
could be passed by the Senate by July 4.
All the sources, speaking on
background, said details on a possible agreement are sketchy, as no final
decisions have been made. But they also said Senate leaders are being more
cautious in talking about the subject.
And even Senate sources hinted that
tax increases will be needed to get the funding to speed up repairs on the
state’s roads and bridges. Finding $1 billion or more in the budget to cut and
dedicate to roads is proving very difficult, they said.
Senate Majority
Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) told reporters after session that he
plans to visit each member to talk about solutions while the Senate takes a
one-week break before returning on June 30 to get back to work.
The Senate GOP caucus has been
meeting throughout June to discuss its options, and it expects to have its
forth, and possibly final, caucus discussion when it returns later this month.
Asked if any progress had been made toward a tangible solution, Meekhof said he
thought so.
“I think they’re looking at
budgets and things they agree to cut or change or redirect revenue,” he
said of his caucus. “I think they’re finding that more difficult than they
thought, but I think they’re going to coalesce around an idea here very
shortly.”
Asked if there had been any
agreement on what could be cut from the budget, Meekhof said, “It’s still
kind of a soup right now.”
But he said he hopes to have a
presentable plan sometime in July if things come together.
And he expects conversations on
finding new revenue to continue to be difficult, but he admits his caucus has
finally come to an agreement that more revenue will be necessary in some form.
But what that form is remains unknown.
“I’m taking nothing off the
table,” he said. “Just finding the way we can get to 20 votes.”
The voters last month resoundingly
rejected Proposal
15-1, which would have restructured and raised the sales tax and created a
new fuel tax structure.
The House then passed a package of
bills that would finance road funding without increasing taxes by cutting funds
in a number of areas and re-directing them to roads.
However, that plan has been sharply
criticized for eliminating the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit. Also, the
administration of Governor
Rick Snyder has blasted the plan for cutting funding to the Michigan
Economic Development Corporation.
Several sources said the direction
the Senate Republicans were going would include an increase in the fuel tax
along with cuts.
But Meekhof spokesperson Amber
McCann reiterated that no specific plan has been established.
July 4 seems to be the date by which
the Senate would act on its proposal, which, if that does occur, would put both
houses and Snyder in place to negotiate a final agreement during the summer.
How large the cuts would be varies,
according to one source, with different individuals saying the cuts could be as
low as $150 million to as much $800 million.
One source said it was their
understanding that when cuts were proposed, the Senate leadership was reluctant
to make those reductions.
Another question seems to be whether
the proposal would fund $1.2 billion of road repairs overtime or an even larger
amount. Sources said the Senate Republicans seem set on a proposal that would
raise at least $1.2 billion.
Again, McCann said no specific
number of how much money is needed in sum had been agreed upon.
Finally, sources said there were
hints the Senate proposal would call for increasing the gas tax over several
years.
This story was published by Gongwer
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