LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – State lawmakers are working on a new plan to fund the upkeep of Michigan roads long term. Just a week after Governor Gretchen Whitmer presented her $83 billion budget for 2026, officials are tasked with finding an additional $4 billion to continue repairing Michgian roads.
Governor Whitmer’s roads bond plan that funded the past six years of road construction is set to expire soon. Lawmakers are now tasked with finding a long-term solution to the $4 billion that is needed annually to maintain state roads and bridges.
Whitmer pushed lawmakers to pass a plan last year, but the legislative term ended without a substantial plan getting introduced.
On Monday, Whitmer rolled out her own plan which would use sales taxes from fuel, and raise corporate and marijuana taxes to increase funding to dedicate to roads.
House Republicans introduced a similar plan, but say they’re focused on avoiding the tax hikes proposed by Whitmer. Representative Dave Prestin (R-Cedar River) said he supports the governor’s plan to divert gas sales taxes but believes other funding can be found by cutting government inefficiencies, rather than raising taxes.
With business owners facing high inflation costs, and looming employee cost increases, Pretin said he worries a corporate tax increase could cripple Michigan businesses. With construction improving the state’s major roads over the past 6 years, he also emphasized the importance of making sure any plan includes funds for local roads.
“When you drill down and get to the core of what’s going on with michigan roads, the money is there, we don’t need to tax anybody anymore,” Prestin said. “I’m all for block grants, getting the funding to road commissions, and letting them fix their roads because, at the end of the day, they are going to do it the most efficient way.”
Democratic leadership in the House said they don’t believe budget cuts will be enough to generate the $ billion needed. The minority leader, Representative Ranjeev Puri, said he’s in support of the governor’s plan because he believes it will take multiple sources to come up with the funding. Even with excess revenue estimated by state economists, Puri said they don’t want to rely on funding they aren’t sure will be there year after year.
“Our roads have been underfunded for decades. If you look at any objective metric, such as the cost spent per mile on construction of Michigan highways, we are the lowest amongst all of our peers.” Puri said. “You cannot just do this with cuts. You can’t just cut your way out of finding $3 or $4 billion out of the budget.”
The 2026 fiscal year budget is now estimated to be Michigan’s largest at $87 billion. The budget is usually passed with a July 1st deadline, but House Republicans have emphasized they will work up until the constitutional deadline in September to pass a budget that works best for the people of Michigan.
