Bill Text: MI SR0128 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to rectify the imbalance in federal transportation funding that has consistently put Michigan near the bottom of the 50 states in the percentage of tax dollars returned and to urge the administration to waive the matching fund requirement for federal highway dollars.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 21-11)
Status: (Passed) 2010-03-17 - Adopted [SR0128 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-SR0128-Enrolled.html
SR-128, As Adopted by Senate, March 17, 2010
Senators Kahn, Richardville, Jansen, George, Gilbert, Garcia, Van Woerkom, Kuipers, Stamas, Hardiman, Birkholz, Pappageorge, Cropsey, Bishop and Jelinek offered the following resolution:
Senate Resolution No. 128.
A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to rectify the imbalance in federal transportation funding that has consistently put Michigan near the bottom of the 50 states in the percentage of tax dollars returned and to urge the administration to waive the matching fund requirement for federal highway dollars.
Whereas, Since the creation of the federal highway system and the construction of the interstate network that began in the 1950s, Michigan has paid more than its share--much more--of the costs of the nation's network of roads. Through a complicated formula that has changed over a span of more than five decades, one thing has remained unchanged: Michigan has been and continues to be a donor state, one sending significantly more money to Washington than it receives in return; and
Whereas, Since the enactment of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, Michigan has, through the various federal transportation taxes paid by Michigan drivers, paid out more than $1.4 billion than it has been allocated in program funds. This shortfall, which represents a 94 percent return, places Michigan at 46th out of the 50 states in the money returned to fund projects in our state. The overall result of this policy is an insufficiently maintained highway network that becomes even more expensive to care for than it needs to be; and
Whereas, Michigan's status as a donor state is even more troubling considering the fact that for the past four years, the state has led the nation with the highest levels of unemployment. In 2009 alone, manufacturing in Michigan lost 91,000 jobs; trade, transportation, and utilities lost 47,000 jobs; and construction lost 24,000 jobs; and
Whereas, Although this serious imbalance in the redistribution of federal transportation tax dollars has always been disturbing and unfair, the harmful impact of this continuing injustice is exacerbated as Michigan struggles in the throes of the transformational challenges facing our economy. No longer can we absorb this annual inequity without seriously jeopardizing the safety of all who utilize our aging highway infrastructure; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to rectify the imbalance in federal transportation funding that has consistently put Michigan near the bottom of the 50 states in the percentage of federal transportation tax dollars returned to this state each year; and be it further
Resolved, That, in light of the state's serious economic troubles, we urge Congress and the Obama Administration to waive the state matching fund requirement for federal highway dollars, as was done with the funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
