State Rep. Gina Johnsen this week spoke out against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s newly announced $2.75 billion plan to fix Michigan roads, which includes significant tax increases. The governor’s proposal comes months after House Republicans announced their own $3.145 billion road funding strategy that does not raise taxes.

“When we announced our common-sense plan to fix the roads without raising taxes, I really hoped the governor would see the sensibility behind it and come to the negotiating table with fiscal responsibility in mind; that isn’t what happened,” said Johnsen, R-Portland. “The governor may have joined the road funding conversation, but her proposal was anything but serious. If House Republicans are at the table ready for legitimate negotiations, she might as well be sitting in the parking lot.”

Johnsen noted a major focus of the House Republican proposal is redirecting funding away from corporate welfare programs and into critical infrastructure projects. The plan also ensures that all taxes paid at the pump are put directly into road funding, a change that would result in $945 million more each year for local roads.

The governor claims her plan would allocate $3 billion to roads; however, $250 million would go to new busing programs that have nothing to do with road repairs. Instead of cutting her corporate welfare programs, the governor’s team floated all sorts of “revenue enhancements,” including taxes on businesses, retail delivery services like Lyft and Uber, towing, heavy truck parking, and internet advertising.

“Considering how high inflation is right now, it’s mind-numbing the governor dares to propose tax increases that would affect so many,” Johnsen said. “Not only would business taxes increase prices for everyone, but trucking taxes would affect farmers and small businesses in my community who rely on semis for product delivery. We have the money in the budget to fix the roads, especially considering state government has grown by almost $30 billion, a 40% increase in six years. The governor may not like it, but House Republicans are committed to securing road funding by cutting our bloated budget, not forcing budget-strapped families to foot the cost.”

###