Hall puts forward a plan for at least $2.7 billion in funding for Michigan roads

House Speaker-elect Matt Hall on Friday unveiled a significant plan to fix Michigan’s roads and bridges, calling for real, bipartisan action on the pressing issue during the Legislature’s lame duck period.

By dedicating existing tax dollars and expiring corporate handouts, Hall’s plan would invest nearly $3 billion in additional funding for infrastructure each year, including long-neglected local roads. The targeted investment proposal comes as general fund spending has grown by more than $4 billion since 2018 — a 40% increase — with almost none of that increase going toward Michigan’s crumbling roads and bridges.

“Everyone says they want to fix the roads when the cameras are on, but nobody has taken any real steps to do it these past two years,” said Hall, R-Richland Township. “The people are sick and tired of inaction and empty words. That’s why House Republicans are taking over in the state House. We are ready to get to work and actually get things done, starting with a real roads plan we can pass the first day we get back in December.”

Hall’s plan would immediately allocate $1.2 billion of corporate income tax (CIT) revenue to infrastructure, add $600 million in additional funding in 2026, and add every cent of state taxes at the gas pump to road funding where it belongs — another nearly $1 billion increase.

• Immediately dedicate $1.2 billion of annual CIT revenue for infrastructure, with the most resources going to local road agencies. County and city roads have been left behind in recent years, with the governor’s $3.5 billion in bonds over six years only supporting state highway repairs. This new dedicated funding will ensure local roads get needed resources.
• Beginning in FY 2025-2026, dedicate the rest of the $600 million in annual CIT revenue for infrastructure. This funding will utilize existing funding by replacing three current earmarks: $500 million for the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund that pays for corporate incentives, $50 million for the Revitalization and Placemaking Fund, and $50 million for the Housing and Community Development Fund. The SOAR and RAP earmarks are set to expire after FY 2024-2025 anyway, so Hall’s plan would replace that expiring allocation by dedicating more resources for roads. The end of automatic SOAR funding will force the governor and others to actually make a good case for new incentive funding after recent projects have wasted billions of dollars, handed taxpayer dollars to Chinese-affiliated ventures, and created few jobs.
• Replace the 6% sales tax on motor fuel with a corresponding revenue-neutral increase in the motor fuel tax, which exclusively supports infrastructure funding. This will yield about $945 million in additional resources. The plan would also hold school funding harmless from the decrease in sales tax revenue.

“State revenue has exploded in recent years and so has government spending. But what do we have to show for it?” Hall said. “Politicians spending billions of dollars every year on new projects and new programs, and then they turn around and say they have no money available for our local roads. It’s a lie. We need to dedicate this funding off the top to keep our politicians from blowing this money year after year. You have to force people in government to do their job and do the right thing. This locks in one of the people’s top priorities and gets the biggest need done first.”

Road funding in Michigan is hurtling toward a financial cliff in 2026, with federal infrastructure dollars drying up and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s debt-funded state highway spending expiring. Work will halt, road builders will be sidelined, and degraded roads will continue to deteriorate. Local roads, which received none of the state’s borrowed funds, are especially in need of support, and their funding situation will only grow more difficult in coming years.

“This administration’s focus on roads the past couple of years has been just on state highways,” Hall said. “We have been listening to our neighbors and local officials who know things aren’t getting fixed and that our local communities haven’t been a priority. And now things will get even worse with all of the easy money coming to an end. Tough decisions need to be made, and strong leaders need to step up and make them. If we don’t want our roads to get even worse, we either need to raise taxes or actually make road funding a priority in the budget. We all saw how Gov. Whitmer’s 45-cent tax plan went over. With state revenues up tens of billions of dollars since then, it is even more obvious that politicians should be able to find this funding without going back to the people to ask for more. This plan does that, and we can get it done right away on Dec. 3 if everyone wants to get serious about fixing our roads.”