Local Reaction to Fuel Tax Proposals

There’s local reaction today to the new bills in Lansing calling for fuel taxes to help out Michigan roads.

All 3 bills call for a 27-cent tax on wholesale gas and diesel prices by 2013.

But they all get there in different ways.

One of the members of the Marquette County Board advised the state last year that some kind of action is necessary.

He says it’s about time for a first step.

Bob Struck says that while we may complain about taxes, many more of us complain about having inadequate roads, and under the law this is the only way to get more cash for them.

One of the bills has a potential problem for the U.P. that Struck says the entire region should watch for.

It would try to change the funding formula of how road dollars are distributed.

Struck says the changes could mean more heavily-populated areas will see more funding while rural areas like the U.P. don’t get anything extra.

The bills have just been introduced to House and Senate committees to look over, so they have a long way to go before they would become law.