LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republicans responded to Governor Whitmer's State of the State Address.
Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Lee Chatfield and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said there were a lot of things they liked about the governor's address Wednesday, but the bonding plan wasn't one of them.
They say the proposal to buy $3.5 billion in bonds wasn't very well thought out and while they aren't completely against the idea, the devil is in the details.
"I hesitate to call it a plan. This is a financing solution that she wants to do for the roads. We're going to have a conversation with her. As the majority leader has said, we're limited in our ability as a legislature to block this bonding proposal but this is not a road fix. This is a temporary solution to take credit for orange barrels that we're putting out on the roads," said Shirkey.
A big concern for them is how the plan was introduced.
"A lot of Michigan people don't understand fully what bonding represents and I believe today, right now after watching what occurred last night they're thinking 'oh our governor has come up with some miraculous solution to fix the roads' and the fact of the matter is it's not," said Shirkey.
After going back and forth with the governor last year on a long-term road fix, Chatfield says this new plan is hypocritical.
"Don't forget. This governor vetoed nearly $400 million in one-time funding for roads. Why? Because she said it wasn't a long-term road funding solution and that she wouldn't sign something unless it was a long-term plan. So what's her plan B? A short-term financing solution," said Chatfield.
On top of that, the details of how the state plans to pay back the money haven't been released.
"This governor has now presented two ideas. One was a massive tax hike and one was a massive loan. The fact of the matter is we're already paying back on two loans that we've done from two other administrations," said Chatfield.
Right now, the legislature can't do much about it.
"It's pretty clear in the Constitution that we, the legislature, have limited ability to prioritize where the bonding proceeds are spent," said Shirkey.
Republicans want to help pay for the roads by putting all the money from the sales tax on gas into that fund.
Chatfield said that he did appreciate Whitmer's emphasis on car insurance, criminal justice reform, and mental health reform during the speech.
Overall, Republicans said they will work with Whitmer's administration as best as possible and achieve goals for both sides of the aisle.
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