State Rep. Ken Borton on Thursday announced his support for the House Republican plan to fix Michigan roads. The plan, House Bills 4180 through 4187, will dedicate an additional $3.1 billion to fixing crumbling infrastructure every year without raising taxes. The money will come from:

• Ending corporate welfare and similar earmarks ($1.1 billion)

• Increased revenue from higher tax returns ($600 million)
• Cutting unnecessary spending ($500 million)
• Dedicating all taxes paid at the pump to roads ($945 million)

“Everywhere you look inside state government, there are places to cut,” said Borton, R-Gaylord. “In fact, if you put the number of unnecessary line items in our budget next to the number of potholes in Michigan, they’d both be in the hundreds of thousands. I’m proud to support the House Republican plan to fix our roads without raising taxes. We need to get potholes filled without reaching back into taxpayer pockets.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced her own roads plan, which includes a multi-billion-dollar tax increase. Borton said that while he appreciates the governor joining House Republicans at the negotiating table, the burden of fixing the roads shouldn’t fall primarily on taxpayers.

The House Republican Roads plan was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

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