Inside 208

The Roads and Economic Development committee held a second day of hearings on the House road funding plan. The committee first took testimony on HB 4615, HB 4614, and HB 4616, which would increase the diesel fuel tax to 19 cents per gallon on October 1, 2015, making it equal...

Today, the House and Senate conference committee on transportation approved a $400 million contribution from the General Fund to go toward road fixes. Approximately $140 million will be used to ensure that the state can match all available federal aid highway funds. The remaining $240 million will be distributed to...

The newly formed Roads and Economic Development committee held the first of three committee hearings this morning on a package of bills introduced by House Republicans to fix Michigan’s crumbling roads. HB 4610 allows townships contributing greater than 50% to a road project over $50,000 to require competitive bidding and...

At a press conference this afternoon Speaker Kevin Cotter released the House Republican transportation plan. The highlights are below. This plan will generate $1.05 billion for transportation $700 million from the General Fund $185 million from Reprioritizing Restricted Funds $162 million from Tax Fairness Reforms and Efficiencies General Fund: The...

(Go here to view the League’s statement on the defeat of Proposal 1) Not to be lost in the overwhelming defeat of Proposal 1 last night, is the success of a majority of local ballot questions that also went before voters in Tuesday’s election. The results show voters are willing...

The fate of Proposal 1 goes in the hands of voters tomorrow (Tuesday, May 5, 2015) and the Michigan Municipal League strongly encourages you to vote yes on this road-funding plan. The League Board of Trustees in January officially endorsed Proposal 1 and the League has been actively supporting it ever...

The fate of Proposal 1 will be decided by voters next week (Tuesday, May 5), and there is one thing guaranteed about the outcome: If it passes it will provide a solution to fix Michigan’s crumbling infrastructure and will guarantee funding for transportation, local government, schools. And if it fails?...

The Michigan Department of Transportation Office of Economic Development is currently accepting Transportation Economic Development Fund Category F applications for Fiscal Year 2017. Eligible applicants include cities, villages and county road commissions. Proposed projects must be on federal-aid designated routes within federal aid urban areas located in a county with...

Last night the Michigan Municipal League hosted a “Safe Roads Symposium” on Proposal 1 in Sterling Heights. The event was attended by about 60 people, including multiple officials from the city of Sterling Heights and surrounding communities. The League’s John LaMacchia, Legislative Associate, was one of several officials who spoke on...

Multiple Michigan communities have passed resolutions in support of Proposal 1 for Safe Roads ballot item on May 5, but we need more to also declare their support. So far the League has been informed that the following communities have passed Vote Yes on Proposal 1 resolutions: Clare, Elk Rapids, Lapeer,...