State Rep. Karl Bohnak on Tuesday addressed Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s newly announced roads plan, specifically her desire to raise taxes to fund her proposal. The governor’s plan comes months after House Republicans announced their own road funding strategy that does not raise taxes.

“As much as the roads need to be fixed – and trust me, every single U.P. resident knows how bad they need to be fixed – tax increases come with some very damaging consequences,” said Bohnak, R-Deerton. “Hard-working people throughout our communities are already struggling to get by and a tax increase would just make things that much harder. We need to work together and find bipartisan solutions to fix our roads in a responsible, cost-effective way.”

Bohnak 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.

Last year, MLive compiled and ranked Michigan counties based on their road conditions as reported by state officials. The report found that 70% of U.P. roads were in poor condition.

“Everything happening in state government has a cost. No one’s questioning that the roads need to be fixed,” said Bohnak, a member of the House Transportation Committee. “My colleagues and I have proven that we can fix our roads without raising taxes. If we have to choose between doling out huge sums of money to large corporations and asking hard-working families to cut their grocery budgets, the answer is clear and it doesn’t require forcing people to choose between milk and eggs.”

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