LANSING – Motorists would have the opportunity to pay a $10 fee when they renew their annual vehicle registration to receive a permit to use any state park or boating access site under legislation that passed the Senate on Thursday despite a sharp division among majority Republicans.

The bills (SB 388 , SB 389 ) marked a rare moment this year when the Republican-led Senate has shown openness to new revenue as they won approval on a 25-12 vote with 12 Republicans supporting them and 10 voting in opposition, including Senate Majority Leader Michael Bishop (R-Rochester).

The fee would be optional for motorists, and supporters of the bill said the funds would provide a sorely needed injection of money into the state parks system.

“Our state parks today are in significant disrepair,” said Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck), sponsor of the main bill. “They are the gems of our natural resources system, and they also provide a huge economic benefit to our whole economy.”

Still, it was unclear how much additional revenue the legislation would raise. According to the Senate Fiscal Agency, if every vehicle registrant opted to pay the $10 fee, about $72 million would be generated annually.

To raise the same amount of money as current resident permit fees, more than 17 percent of registrants would have to participate.

Birkholz said the bills also would save residents money because an annual statewide pass now costs $24. Daily passes are $6.

The bills have been pending on the Senate floor since May, and getting a vote on the legislation became difficult after the Michigan Chamber of Commerce decided to oppose the legislation, Birkholz said. Further, the Chamber sent a letter to lawmakers informing them how they voted would factor into the Chamber’s annual scorecard.

“We lost some members when they decided to make it one of their key votes,” she said. “We had whipped the caucus to make sure we had a majority. You want to support the Chamber, obviously, but you also want to support your constituents.”

Doug Roberts Jr. of the Chamber said the group opposed clouding the purpose of vehicle registration fees, which go to roads. Although the new fee would be separate from the vehicle registration fee, the move could open the door to a series of other programs seeking funding, Roberts said.

“We think state parks are important to our state, but we were really concerned about the funding mechanism of using these vehicle registration fees to support something other than roads,” he said.

The legislation had the support of Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

“MUCC believes this bi-partisan, bi-cameral legislative proposal is a workable solution that gives Michigan’s citizens a choice on whether or not to support our state parks at a time when the state parks need us most,” Erin McDonough, MUCC executive director, wrote in a letter to senators.

One of the Republican opponents, Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom (R-Norton Shores), said parks should be funded by user fees.

“I am a supporter of state parks,” he said. “I don’t believe that this fee is an appropriate way of funding our parks.”

Bishop spokesperson Matt Marsden said Bishop had pledged a vote to Birkholz, whom he said had asked several times when it would come up for action.

“At the end of the day, his job is not to be an obstructionist,” he said. “His job is to provide an opportunity to vote on legislation.”

Marsden said besides the Chamber’s concerns, other opposition stemmed from whether providing a new funding mechanism to parks was appropriate given the budget cuts hitting every part of government.

ROLL CALL VOTE: Here is how the Senate voted on SB 388 and SB 389:

REPUBLICANS VOTING YES (12): Allen, Birkholz, Cassis, Cropsey, George, Hardiman, Jansen, Jelinek, Pappageorge, Patterson, Richardville, Stamas

REPUBLICANS VOTING NO (10): Bishop, Brown, Garcia, Gilbert, Kahn, Kuipers, McManus, Nofs, Sanborn, Van Woerkom

DEMOCRATS VOTING YES (13): Anderson, Barcia, Basham, Brater, Clark-Coleman, Clarke, Hunter, Jacobs, Olshove, Scott, Switalski, Thomas, Whitmer

DEMOCRATS VOTING NO (2): Cherry, Prusi

DEMOCRATS ABSENT (1): Gleason

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