State Rep. Beau LaFave today issued the following statement in response to this week’s meeting between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative leadership to negotiate a plan to fix Michigan’s roads:
“I saw a headline today— ‘8 ideas being floated to fix Michigan roads’ – and it got me thinking: that’s seven plans put forward by lawmakers this summer while Gov. Whitmer clings to her $2.5 billion tax hike. Despite the rhetoric, this isn’t a negotiation. This is a hostage situation. The governor is holding record funding for Michigan students hostage while she lobbies for a record of her own— saddling drivers with the highest gas taxes in the nation.
“The House’s proposals—including our budget proposal— do nothing to gut or decrease school funding in any way. In fact, our budget plan raises per-pupil funding across the board and increases per-pupil funding for our poorest schools more than the governor’s plan. Our proposal simply says that every dollar paid at the pump goes to our roads. It’s unreasonable to even suggest forcing the people of Michigan to accept a gas tax increase until every dollar paid at the pump goes to fixing our roads.”
The House’s budget plan sets aside $542.5 million for road repairs without raising taxes by sending every dollar at the pump to road repairs and uses budget efficiencies to raise K-12 funding to record levels by as much as $180 per student.
