Governor Snyder’s Special Message on Infrastructure has resulted in 19 bills. The 19 bill package was introduced and has both Republican and Democrat sponsors. Below is a brief summary on some of the bills that are in the package.
A bill to convert the fuel taxes to a wholesale tax by taking the current rate of 19 cents per gallon and replacing it with a wholesale tax with the effective rate of 28.3 cents per gallon. The current diesel discount of four cents per gallon plus other exemptions including vehicles owned by local governments, school busses and transit agencies would also end. There will be a limit placed in the bill that will ensure the tax could neither increase nor decrease more than one cent per year after the initial year. This bill is projected to raise $541 million annually.
A bill to increase statewide registration fees for most passenger vehicles by 67%. Weight based fees for most passenger vehicles would increase 25%. This bill is projected to raise $500 million for transportation purposes.
A bill to amend Public Act 51 to provide that local road agencies that received less than $50,000 in 2012 would have their funds shifted to their respective counties starting in 2015.
A bill to say that all road projects may be subject to competitive bid regardless of cost.
A bill to create a new regional transit authority is Southeast Michigan. The transit region initially would include Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw Counties, and allows for contiguous counties to join to join by petition.
A bill to allow the regional transit authority to ask voters to approve an optional regional registration fee for transit services.
A bill to allow counties to ask voters to approve a county optional registration fee to fund transportation programs and projects.
If you would like more detailed information on the bills, or have any questions or comments, please contact Jason Mancini in the League’s Capitol office.
Jason Mancini works for the Michigan Municipal League handling transportation issues. He can be reached at 517-908-0303 or email at [email protected]