State Rep. Brian BeGole today highlighted an updated roads plan from Speaker of the House Matt Hall that will inject billions of dollars annually into road funding, including local road repairs in Shiawassee, Genesee and Saginaw counties, without raising taxes.

The updated plan commits $3.145 billion each year using $2.2 billion from the Corporate Income Tax, including expiring and inefficient earmarks set aside for business attraction incentives, and $945 million through permanently dedicating all taxes paid at the pump to road funding.

The plan includes zero new taxes and no new bonds that increase long-term debt for taxpayers. It also holds school funding harmless by dedicating $700 million in sales tax revenue to account for the decrease in what is normally allocated through gasoline sales tax.

“Fixing local roads is a priority for an overwhelming amount of people I represent. They have been neglected for far too long,” said BeGole, of Antrim Township. “I heard a lot from the governor about continuing to fix the damn roads in her address in Detroit on Wednesday. This is a plan that commits resources to doing that and ensures value for taxpayer dollars.

“With the Democrat trifecta over and split government in place, we need to find common priorities that people we all represent want to see get done. Roads from driveway to highway is right at the top of that list, and I’m hopeful we can see collaboration and progress on this plan as we go forward with this term.”

BeGole noted that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 plan sold $3.5 billion in bonds to finance new construction projects on large, state-owned highways, as local roads have often been left to languish due to budget priorities elsewhere.

“Democrats blew through a $9 billion surplus and have rammed through state budgets of over $80 billion while barely paying any attention to local roads,” BeGole said. “The 2020 plan was the governor going to taxpayers for money to pay for it all. This is a real plan that uses existing resources in an effective way that will make a real difference for our communities, workers and families.”