LANSING -- Governor Rick Snyder has unveiled his $50 billion budget plan. In it, is a proposed increase to the gas tax to fix Michigan’s ailing roads. If legislators get their way, the gas tax would go from 19-cents a gallon to 33-cents a gallon. Vehicle registrations would go up too.
There's no doubt about it, some of Michigan’s roads are deteriorating. That’s why Governor Snyder wants to raise a billion dollars a year to fix roads. Area lawmakers agree, something's got to be done.
“The overwhelming need in Michigan is for us to improve the roads that are deteriorating at $3 million a day, a $100 million a year,” says Michigan state senator Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw).
State senator Roger Kahn backs legislation that would raise the sales tax from 6-percent to 8-percent.
“That's totally ridiculous,” says Victor Adams.
"I think if Governor Snyder wants to fix the roads, maybe he should take a pay cut,” says Michael Verrier
The other option is to drive up vehicle registration costs 80-percent. The gas tax would also rise 14-cents per gallon.
“There's gotta be other ways for us to raise revenue to repair our roads. What happened to the lottery money? What happened to all the other money that's supposed to be earmarked for some of these repairs,” says Adams.
“If there's one thing I'll have you remember here, this is an effort to save lives, save money and create jobs,” says Kahn.
The legislation is still developing. It costs about $50 to register a Chevy Equinox right now, if the legislation becomes law, it'll cost about $90.
