Back To Work On The Budget

Lawmakers are back in Lansing on Tuesday, and while their focus has been on finishing the state budget, the issue of road funding is once again looming large overhead.

That’s because voters last week rejected a ballot proposal that would have increased funding for roads.

The debate in Lansing has reverted back to where it was one year ago, with a dispute over whether or not there should be a tax increase to generate the funds.

Anti-tax lawmakers are proposing a variety of ways to tap into existing revenue, including using money from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, an idea that opponents alternately call “silly” and “illegal.”

Those opponents also believe there can’t be an adequate response to the road funding problem without some type of tax or fee increase, including proposals that Governor Rick Snyder has also promoted.

Senate Republican Pat Colbeck of Canton says the legislature can find the revenue in the existing budget and not cut essential items like schools, police or fire.