House Transportation committee hears $6.8 billion state transportation budget briefing from House Fiscal Agency

William Hamilton, senior fiscal analyst for the nonpartisan Michigan House Fiscal Agency, told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the current state transportation gross appropriation is about $6.8 billion and that roughly two‑thirds of that total comes from state‑restricted transportation revenues while about $2.3 billion comes from federal sources and $193 million from general fund/general purpose revenue.

Hamilton said the largest single state restricted revenue source is vehicle registration taxes (about 38 percent of restricted revenue), followed closely by motor fuel taxes on gasoline and diesel. Other material sources credited to the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) include an earmark of income tax revenue (about $600 million in the current year) and an excise earmark from recreational marijuana (approximately $113.6 million estimated for 2025). The motor fuel tax rate is currently 31 cents per gallon, Hamilton said, after statutory inflation adjustments tied to the November 2015 road funding package.

The briefing summarized program allocations: road and bridge programs make up the largest share of the budget (about 83 percent,…