Senate Committee proposes tax hike to fix roads

LANSING — The Michigan Senate Government Operations Committee approved legislation Tuesday that would drum up revenue to fix the roads.

The revenue would come from a combination of gas and diesel tax increases that would take place from Oct. 1st, 2015 through Jan. 1st, 2017. According to State Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), the gas tax would be capped at 34 cents per gallon by 2017.

The bill, which is being called ‘Fixing MI Roads,’ now heads to the full Senate for consideration. Michigan voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal in May that would have helped fix Michigan’s roads. Proposal One called for an increase in the state sales tax from 6% to 7% and increases in fuel/gas taxes.