road funding

It is a fact universally acknowledged that Michigan has terrible roads.

Well, unless you are state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake), who said this month that he is not convinced there is a need for new road spending.

While there are a lot of arguments to be had about how to actually fix the roads by politicians and policy advisors and opinion columnists, there are some facts about Michigan’s roads that are indisputable.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed two bills sent to her by the Legislature.

One bill would have reversed the Michigan Natural Resources Commission’s ban on hunters using bait to attract deer and elk.

The governor’s veto message says that would increase the risk of disease spreading to game and domestic livestock, and goes against the advice of wildlife experts.

Following a months-long impasse, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican legislative leaders have agreed to work out a budget framework without a long-term fix for the state’s roads.

“The people of Michigan deserve leadership in Lansing that will work to continue providing them with services they depend on every day,” a joint statement released Monday morning reads.

Republican lawmakers are trying to find ways to raise more money for the roads. But they want to avoid Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed 45-cent fuel tax increase.

A new idea to raise money to fix the state’s roads involves selling state assets to pay for the infrastructure.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer used the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference on Mackinac Island to lobby for her proposal for a 45 cent increase in the fuel tax to pay for road repairs. She challenged Republicans to offer an alternative if they don’t like her plan.

She says the two and a half billion dollar price tag is big because the problem has been ignored for so long.

A new report says Michigan needs to spend billions of dollars during the next decade to make significant improvements to the state’s county roads and bridges.

The report, entitled the County Road Investment Plan, comes from the County Road Association of Michigan. The association is made up of county road officials who oversee about 75% of Michigan’s roads. 

The man picked to implement Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s main campaign promise to “fix the damn roads” was grilled by state senators Tuesday.

Paul Ajegba has been with the Michigan Department of Transportation for nearly three decades. He was picked by the governor in December to serve as MDOT director. 

He told the Senate Advice and Consent committee that Michigan’s poor roads are a result of a history of temporary fixes to stretch state tax dollars. Ajegba noted Michigan has ranked near the bottom for per capita spending on roads.

Governor Rick Snyder has signed a budget bill that accelerates spending on road repairs in time to help with the spring and summer construction season.

The bill shifts $175 million from next year’s construction season to use this coming spring and summer to fix roads.

“You’re going to see a lot of (orange) barrels in every corner of Michigan,” he said.

But this spending on repairs is still not expected to keep pace with the rate at which roads are crumbling following a freeze-and-thaw winter’s that’s been brutal on pavement.

Roads, flood damage repairs, and an investigation could get money sent their way soon. The Legislature sent a spending bill to the governor’s desk today.

Every lawmaker in the House and Senate voted in favor of the bill. The big ticket item is roads – $175 million spread out to cities and villages, county road commissions and state road preservation and projects.

“For the roads, it’s probably been the worst Michigan winter we’ve had in 15 to 20 years when you look at the freeze and the thaw, the freeze and the thaw," said Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt.

Lawmakers in Lansing want to put $175 million toward fixing the state’s roads. The state House passed the spending bill today.

Governor Rick Snyder initially proposed a similar spending bump for the next budget cycle. But lawmakers say the potholes and crumbling roads need to be addressed as soon as possible. They want the money available in time for construction season.

A snowy winter mixed with a few recent warmer days could make for a particularly nasty pothole season in Michigan.

A Michigan Department of Transportation spokesperson says more people seem to be calling the state’s pipeline hotline this year. So far, more than 500 people have reported problems on roads across the state using the hotline.

Gov. Snyder wants the public to turn up the heat on state lawmakers over road funding.

At a Michigan Department of Transportation facility in Oakland County Thursday, Snyder said his push is partly about the entire 2019 budget he proposed this week. It has an additional $150 million for infrastructure projects.

But Snyder also wants to bring in another $175 million of what he calls some “one-time” supplemental money that’s already elsewhere in the budget to pay for some additional projects sooner.

Gov. Rick Snyder today vetoed a road funding bill aimed at giving some relief to cities.

Right now, cities with more than 25,000 people have to share the costs of nearby state trunk line road construction projects. Senate Bill 557 sought to end that practice. It passed both the state House and Senate with big majorities.

Update 2:30 p.m.: Judge Christopher Yates has ruled Hewlett-Packard must hand over the source code to Michigan.

Original post:

Michigan is squaring off with technology company Hewlett-Packard over source code for an unfinished computer system upgrade.

The state hired HP in 2005 to replace the Secretary of State's computer system. The $49 million project was supposed to be finished by 2010. 

Michigan terminated its contract with HP in August, on grounds that the company had missed deadlines and failed to deliver a complete project.

Governor Rick Snyder has signed legislation that will increase fuel taxes and registration fees and re-prioritize spending to raise more than $1 billion to fix roads.

A $1.2 billion road funding plan has cleared the state Senate.

The new "compromise" plan takes $600 million from existing revenues to the state's General Fund, $400 million from a seven-cent-per-gallon increase in the state's gas tax, and $200 million from an increase in vehicle registration fees.

Top lawmakers hope to reach a compromise this week on road funding bills.

The state House recently approved a $1.2 billion plan that in equal parts raises taxes and shifts money from other areas of the budget.

The stalemate over road funding continues in the Michigan Legislature.

The state Senate was expected to pass a road funding plan on Tuesday that had already been approved by the state House. But it adjourned after about eight hours of talks without a vote.