State Representative Joey Andrews says it was a slow start to the legislative session in Lansing, but things are now happening.
Speaking to Benton Harbor City Commissioners this past week, Andrews said a big-ticket item is the recent passage of a road funding package. He says the Republican-led plan aims to generate about $3 billion per year for roads, closing the road funding gap that he said will result in 50% to 60% of the state’s roads being rated fair or poor within the next ten years if not addressed.
Andrews supported the package because it will mean substantial road dollars for cities, townships, and counties.
“It’s a very large sum of money to local governments,” Andrews said. “I think what we saw in the estimate was that city of Benton Harbor would stand to gain $2 million a year in additional road funding. Obviously, that would go a long way to getting a lot of the roads fixed, even with the high cost of roads right now.”
Andrews said the package would also mean $20 million to $30 million more for Berrien County, and $65 million in Southwest Michigan overall. However, Andrews said this plan is just a blueprint, the details of which will be worked out in the Senate.
“I don’t view this as a final product and we’re hopeful that the Senate and the governor in negotiations are going to find those funding mechanisms. We can’t budget cut our way to $3 billion, not without touching pretty critical pieces in the budget.”
Also in Lansing, Andrews said work on legislation to create a Public Safety Trust Fund has resumed after it fizzled out in the last session. He said the fund would provide extra police funding to cities with high crime rates, like Benton Harbor. And he touted legislation that would provide incentives to the nuclear industry to locate in the state.
