Michigan voters severely rejected the state’s road tax program, Proposal 1, 80-20 percent. This rejection may be the most one-sided loss for a proposed constitutional amendment in state history, reports USA Today.
Proposal 1 would have hiked the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent, raising nearly $1.3 billion extra for roads, says USA Today. In addition, the plan would have generated about $200 million a year more for schools; $116 million for transit and rail; $111 million more for local governments; and given $260-million tax breaks for low- to moderate income families through restoration of the Earned Income Tax Credit, says USA Today.
Many voters expressed anger at the state government for not coming up with a better solution to the poor state of the roads.
“We need to go ahead and get these roads and infrastructure fixed immediately, given the nature and the extent of the damage that has occurred from not maintaining them,” says Rep. Peter Lucido, a Republican from Shelby Township.
According to USA Today, however, this vote is not expected to make it easier to find a solution to the state’s infrastructure problem. In fact, it sets up a conflict between tea party conservatives who want to address road issues without raises taxes and other Legislature who says the public is willing to pay more to fix the roads – with the exception of the current proposal.
In addition, the proposal failed to spell out all of the details in the ballot, reports USA Today. For example, passage of the proposal would have resulted in 10 bills, which were passed during a lame duck session in December, going into law.
House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, a Democrat from Auburn Hills, also commented on the proposal rejection, saying voters were skeptical about having their taxes increased to fix the roads after watching Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature approve corporate tax cuts of more than $2 billion a year since 2011.
“We need corporations to pay their fair share,” says Greimel. “The Democratic caucus is going to return to work and immediately and roll up our sleeves and try to find a sensible bipartisan solution.”
Photo credit: 401(K) 2013 / iWoman / CC BY-SA
