LANSING, Mich. — Tuesday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer presented her first executive budget to a joint session of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
The budget presentation highlighted her funding priorities and delivered on her commitment to solving problems that will make an impact on people’s lives across Michigan.
State Budget Director Chris Kolb also presented.
The plan included a 45-cent increase in Michigan's gasoline and diesel taxes to fix the roads, phased in later this year and in 2020.
Experts say the proposal would raise an estimated $2 billion, close to the $2.2 billion a panel created by then-Governor Rick Snyder recommended in 2016.
Whitmer, who campaigned on a pledge to fix deteriorating roads that experts say will only worse if nothing is done, wants to boost the 26-cents-a-gallon gas tax by 15 cents in October, an additional 15 cents in April 2020 and a final 15 cents in October 2020.
