State Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, on Wednesday released the following statement after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her plan to fix Michigan roads, which includes a significant tax increase. The governor’s proposal comes months after House Republicans announced their own road funding strategy that does not raise taxes.

“Our roads have been in terrible condition for so long that potholes, flat tires, and never-ending construction zones have become a way of life in Michigan,” said Steele, R-Orion Township. “The state’s failure to remedy this problem has cost the public millions in car repairs. Yet, the governor’s solution is going back to those same people who are already footing the bill for our bloated budget.”

Steele noted that the House Republicans plan designates $3.1 billion in annual revenue for roads without raising taxes. A major focus of the proposal is redirecting funding away from corporate welfare programs and into critical infrastructure projects. The plan also ensures that all taxes paid at the pump are put directly into road funding, a change that would result in $945 million more each year for local roads.

Just last week, the governor released her executive recommendation for the state budget. Within her proposal, she included funding for 800 new state employees and more than $1 billion in new government spending. However, she didn’t recommend allocating any new money toward local roads.

“The governor has been uninterested in fixing our roads for over six years, but she’s all about discussions and proposals but fails at implementation,” said Steele, who serves as chair of the budget committee responsible for the transportation budget. “She’s grown our government by over $30 billion, a 40% increase since she took office. Instead of tapping into that increased spending for roads, her plan is to raise taxes and push the costs onto hard-working people across Michigan.”

Last month, the governor gave a speech at the Detroit Auto Show where she called for bipartisan solutions on road funding, including that the roads are facing a major funding cliff. Steele agreed and said that the state must avoid that funding disaster. The governor herself said that Legislative Democrats will have to embrace fiscally responsible cuts to reach a consensus on a solution. Steele said she was looking forward to the governor releasing the portions of the plan that include those cuts, and not just more new taxes.

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