The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Representative Wayne Schmidt, took testimony today on three House Bills. House Bill 4358 and 4359 would remove the gas and diesel tax that is paid at the pump and change that to a percentage based tax charged on the wholesale price. House Bill 4539 would remove the 6% sales tax that is charged at the pump. This is a major concern to the Michigan Municipal League since it would reduce funding to local governments by over $100 million.

The League testified in committee today and informed committee members of our broad support for increased transportation funding, but more importantly expressed our deep concerns over the loss of revenue to local communities that House Bill 4539 creates. We informed committee members that we would be in full opposition to this language if they attempted to move this bill forward without a guaranteed replacement of the funds local communities would be losing. We will be working with Representative Schmidt to ensure that local communities revenue is not put in jeopardy as a result of this legislation.

John LaMacchia is a Legislative Associate with the League handling transportation issues. He can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0303.