State Rep. Pat Altman outlines 9-bill road funding plan, says Montcalm would receive $23 million

State Representative Pat Altman told the Montcalm County Board of Commissioners on April 28 that he is leading a nine-bill package intended to increase funding for Michigan roads by redirecting existing revenue rather than raising taxes.

Altman said the package (House Bills 4180–4187 and an additional floor substitute) would redirect corporate income tax revenue and sales-tax receipts on fuel to the Michigan Transportation Fund and provide roughly $3.1 billion in additional road funding statewide using existing revenue. "There's no tax hikes within this plan," he said, adding that the largest component would redirect the first $2.2 billion of corporate income tax revenue and that about $1 billion of sales-tax-on-fuel revenue would go to transportation.

Altman framed the plan as focused on local roads, not just trunk lines. He said about $2.5 billion of the plan would go to local roads and that $375 million of the redirected corporate income tax revenue would be earmarked for county nonprimary roads with no local-match requirement. "When using that $375 million there will be no local match requirement," Altman said, adding that many townships could not afford a 50% match.

Nut graf: Altman said the measures aim to head off an approaching funding shortfall for Michigan roads by using existing revenue streams and by prioritizing local roads. He described the plan as bipartisan in the House and awaiting action in the Michigan Senate.

Altman said the House transportation plan passed his committee on March 18 and passed the full House the following day with bipartisan support. He briefed commissioners on reasons he said the plan is necessary: rising project costs, declining gas-tax revenue due to fuel efficiency and more hybrid/electric vehicles, and decades of underinvestment. "Reports indicate that we're about $2 to $4 billion underfunded," he said.

On local impacts, Altman said Montcalm County would stand to receive about $23 million under his plan, which he characterized as a 98% increase for the county. He also listed example allocations for municipalities: Greenville would receive roughly $3.4 million (a 53% increase), Stanwood about a 68% increase, and Lakeview about a 54% increase. "The vast majority of this plan goes to our local road system," he said.

Altman also described a proposed $50 million Public Safety Trust Fund to support law enforcement, training and community policing; he said Montcalm County would receive about $225,000 from that fund under the proposal. He tied the trust fund to ongoing law-enforcement staffing problems in rural counties.

Commissioners asked about which state programs or accounts would lose funding if revenue is redirected. Altman said much of the redirected money comes from the state's general fund, and he said he added standalone bills to backfill school aid and local revenue sharing to prevent those accounts from losing revenue. "The biggest losers out of this plan" would be the state's corporate incentive tools he described as the "SOAR fund" and some corporate tax credits, he said.

Altman said he is working with the governor's office and Senate members and urged commissioners to review his committee testimony in the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said the Senate had not acted on the plan as of the April 28 meeting and that the constitutional deadline for the state budget is Sept. 30.

Ending: Altman concluded by asking for questions and said he welcomed follow-up. Commissioners thanked him for the update and noted time constraints; no formal county action on the bills was taken during the meeting.