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Rep. O’Malley: House Transportation Committee hearing with MDOT both concerning and informative
RELEASE|February 4, 2020

Legislator: Local roads and rural areas must be prioritized, not marginalized

State Rep. Jack O’Malley, chair of the House Transportation Committee, today reiterated his commitment to local road repairs following a hearing discussing a recent idea by the governor to borrow $3.5 billion for state-owned roads.

Officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation, including Director Paul Ajegba, offered statistical analysis and thoughts on the idea in testimony. O’Malley underscored the importance of the meeting as a good practice in government accountability and transparency – noting the governor’s announcement of the unilateral proposal at the State of the State address came only 12 hours before it was approved through the necessary executive channels.

“The governor’s original plan to increase the gas tax by 45 cents per gallon was incredibly unpopular in northern Michigan. This plan is not receiving rave reviews either because it doesn’t do anything to address rural roads or local roads in general, which are worse off than state roads,” said O’Malley, of Lake Ann. “I felt this hearing was constructive because it allowed legislators on the committee who hear about roads from the people they represent to relay those concerns to the people who decided on this. That’s representation at work.”

O’Malley highlighted Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council data that was shared by former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who now serves as president of the Small Business Association of Michigan. Pie charts displayed showed a higher percentage of local roads in poor condition than state roads – but money bonded by the governor can only be dedicated to large, state-owned roads.

Of the new projects listed within the governor’s “Rebuild Michigan” plan, all are located in the southern and south central regions of the Lower Peninsula.

“It’s great that people’s commutes are going to be better on the highways in southeast Michigan, but they’ve got to get off the freeway at some point and use other roads to get where they’re going and they will be relying on a quality road to get them there,” O’Malley said. “So while I’m in agreement with our state roads needing some work, I strongly disagree with the move to totally ignore local roads and stick the drivers using them with a massive debt bill over the next few decades.

“I appreciate these testimonies and all the data being presented to us. I like to make sure our group has the facts as we continue to work hard to make sure people’s roads are getting fixed. And we’re going to continue working to get it done with respect to efficient spending and what people can afford.”

 

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