AASHTO Journal, 1 May 2015
With just days remaining before Michigan voters decide the fate of a proposed transportation funding plan, the main group in support of the initiative – called “Safe Roads Yes” – launched a three-day, nine-city bus tour starting April 30 to rally support.
In December, the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder had negotiated a plan to inject another $1.2 billion a year into road and bridge improvements, plus $112 more into transit and rail. But it must earn voters’ approval for the multi-part plan to take effect.
Snyder and Michigan Department of Transportation Director Kirk Steudle have pushed hard for months to convince the public of the need to increase transportation funding, as AASHTO Journal has reported.
In the period leading up to the vote on the ballot measure, the state DOT has maintained a prominent set of funding messages on its website, and Snyder has done the same for his governor’s page.
The Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association, in an April 29 press release, said many vacationers coming to Michigan from other states “won’t be coming back” if their trip is filled with “bone-jarring potholes and repair-induced delays.” Meanwhile, it said, the extra costs in vehicle repairs to state residents using bad roads throughout the year mean they have less money for vacations themselves.
The Detroit News reported that Safe Roads Yes has used telephone calls, digital advertising and volunteers knocking on doors to target absentee ballot voters to lock in votes, while anti-tax opponents have been holding phone town halls and other get-out-the-vote efforts.
If approved, the revenue plan would raise the state retail sales tax to 7 percent from 6 percent, replace fixed per-gallon taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel with a wholesale tax on motor fuels that would raise pump prices next October by an estimated 3 cents a gallon, and levy about $95 million in new or altered vehicle registration fees.
Besides the new money it would generate for road and transit programs, Snyder has said it would raise $300 million more for schools and $94 million for local governments while providing $260 million in tax relief for lower-income residents.