VIEW: SEMCOG’s Stand on Transportation Funding Legislation
(Guest View: South East Michigan Council of Govenments – SEMCOG, Dec 8, 2014)
At last Friday’s Executive Committee, a resolution was passed in support of the Senate-passed transportation funding legislation that will:
~Eliminate the fuel tax and create a tax on the wholesale price of fuel.
~Include a new tax that will charge a flat rate per gallon.
~Be recalculated each year based on change in the average wholesale.
~Limit wholesale price calculation to +/- five percent per year.
~Phase in over a four-year period.
The resolution also expressed strong opposition to the House-passed legislation that will:
~Raise less funds for roads over a longer period of time.
~Shift the six percent sales tax on fuel so that all of this funding will go to roads and bridges. This six percent sales tax currently funds education and local government revenue sharing; the House does not provide a satisfactory method of replacing the loss of funding to education and local government.
~Harm public transit in two ways. First, it will change the transportation distribution formula so that no new revenue will go to public transportation. Second, the House bill eliminates a funding source to public transportation that equates to a 25 percent reduction ($56 million) in existing public transit revenue.
We need all of our members to contact their House and Senate legislators. House and Senate members need to know that SEMCOG opposes the House-passed bill. They also need to know that SEMCOG fully supports the Senate-passed funding bills.
Some are talking about compromise between the Senate and House versions of the legislation. SEMCOG does not see a need to compromise. The Senate bills provide the minimal amount of new revenue for our transportation needs. Any less revenue means that rebuilding our transportation systems will be slowed to a crawl. The House bills provide less revenue, while at the same time eliminate public transit funding, eliminates $1 billion of education revenue, and takes another shot at local government revenue sharing. While the House did include some language to address these shortfalls, few feel confident that such language can actually be implemented.
By making direct contact with legislators, SEMCOG members can make the difference on this legislation. Personal contact informing legislators that we support the Senate-passed bill and strongly oppose the House-passed bill can make all the difference. Please set up an emergency meeting or place a call. These efforts are effective.
For more information on SEMCOG and these bills, visit http://www.semcog.org/.