As negotiations over Michigan’s annual budget pick up the pace, fissures are developing between the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over the perennial problem of road funding.
Whitmer’s budget recommendation hinges on a 45-cent gas tax increase to pay for them, a suggestion House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clark Lake) have so far rejected on its face.
Chatfield’s described the plan as a “nonstarter” in the House, recently suggesting he prefers an approach that directs “every penny that’s paid at the pump to our roads” and said House Republicans are in the process of drafting their own budget plan.
Spokesperson Gideon D’Assandro said there currently isn’t a set timeline on when that plan might be released, adding conversations are ongoing.
In the Senate, leaders are considering splitting road funding talks from the budget process entirely.