LANSING – A spokesperson for the Michigan Senate majority leader said Wednesday she thinks the earliest the Senate could try again to vote on a road funding solution is next week given the expected absence of some members for the remainder of this week, though the registration fee increase in the House-passed proposal is still too much for the caucus.

Amber McCann, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive), said she was unsure if the Senate will try to lower the registration fee increase portion of the 600/600 plan and focus more on a gas tax increase. The chamber is considering a House-passed plan that eventually allocates $1.2 billion toward road funding through a minimal gas tax increase, a 40 percent increase in vehicle registration fees across the board – which accounts for $600 million – and the redirection of existing revenue within the budget accounting for the other half.

“At this point, the consensus in the Senate is that the registration fee increase of 40 percent is just too high,” she said.

House Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant), on WDET-FM’s “Detroit Today,” said Wednesday before session that he expects the House and Senate to come to an agreement in “short order.”

He reiterated, as he said Tuesday, it is reasonable for the Senate to take some time with the plan it received from the House last week, and he defended the House’s decision to rely more heavily on registration fees instead of a gasoline tax (unlike what the Senate had passed) because it ensures a funding source that is adequate going forward. He said he expects to see an increase in the use of hybrid and elective vehicles in the future and they will not use as much fuel.

“So to the extent that we rely on the gas tax, we are setting ourselves up for another broken formula,” Cotter said. “I think to the extent that we rely on registration fees we are better protecting ourselves going forward to make sure this road funding mechanism is going to work.”

Cotter spokesperson Gideon D’Assandro on Wednesday said the House Republican caucus is considering a lot of different options within the 600/600 framework.

Rep. Peter Pettalia (R-Presque Isle), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has previously said that while he believes House Republicans would be willing to approve a different ratio of revenue from registration fees compared to the fuel tax, going above $600 million in new revenue would be a non-starter (See Gongwer Michigan Report, October 27, 2015).

It remains unclear, since an “impasse” had been declared two weeks ago among the Legislative Quadrant leaders, if formal quadrant meetings might begin again. McCann said Meekhof speaks with Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint) and House Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) every day, and he will continue those informal discussions to see if they can find a compromise.

Ananich has been adamant that the leaders in each chamber need to come back together to discuss where everyone is at on what so that a solution can be found and leadership can take it back to their respective caucuses.

This story was published by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on www.gongwer.com