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Whitmer: Legislature must ‘get off the dime’ on road fixes

Posted at 5:01 PM, May 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-14 17:01:33-04

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — With her signature priority of fixing the roads stalled in the Legislature, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says it’s time for Republican leaders to ‘get off the dime’ and ‘get moving’ on the issue.

The Democrat said Tuesday that fixing roads is the “No. 1 issue” for people, but she’s hearing “crickets” in the Capitol. She proposed a 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax increase as part of her budget, but it has been rejected by Republicans who currently are focused on cutting auto insurance premiums.

Whitmer, who unveiled her budget more than two months ago, says the first thing lawmakers should be focused on is passing a budget that includes billions more in road funding. She opposes the car insurance legislation.

Budget bills are moving, but without a major influx of new road funding.