OPSOMMER BILLS WOULD LESSEN ROAD DOLLAR DIVERSIONS

State Rep. Paul Opsommer announced today he will introduce legislation that would change the way the Department of Treasury allocates the interest it earns on money it keeps in the "common cash fund." Under current practices much of the interest money that transportation fund dollars earn gets shifted for other purposes, ultimately leaving less money for concrete and asphalt.

"Taxpayers have a justified expectation that when they pay taxes at the gas pump that it goes toward transportation," said Opsommer. "Stopping the diversion of road dollars should be step number one in addressing our shortfall in funding, and this bill making sure we use appropriate accounting procedures is just one of many holes in the bucket that needs to be patched."

Opsommer has also introduced HJR Y, which aims to stop the $18 million diversion of Transportation Economic Development Funds, as well as HB 5075, which would help to constitutionally protect revenue generated by gasoline and automobile related sales that is currently going for other purposes.

"Here in Michigan, an astounding $1.9 billion of the sales tax on gasoline, automobiles and automobile-related products goes to other purposes with none of it being earmarked for roads like it is in other states," said Opsommer. "All the sales tax being generated from cash for clunkers isn't helping our roads. Of course our roads will be crumbling if our laws intentionally starve them of the money they generate."

Opsommer also criticized recent bill introductions in Congress that would foist counterproductive and convoluted road funding schemes onto Michigan.

"The July 23rd federal announcement out of Oregon that would push a GPS-based vehicle miles tax onto the taxpayers of Michigan is shocking," said Opsommer. "Here on the one hand we have the federal government pushing a cash for clunkers program to get people to drive more fuel efficient cars, and now they are turning around and saying that because the cars are more fuel efficient that we need to keep track of where people drive and then electronically toll them in real time based on the road they drive on, the day, the time, and the congestion level. Our lives are complicated enough."

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was recently called the Secretary of Behavior Modification by Newsweek columnist George Will, and Opsommer said he is opposed to road funding schemes that seek to trick or manipulate drivers into no win situations or cases of double taxation.

"Michigan is not interested in toll schemes that would punish people simply because they can't find a person whom they feel safe enough to carpool with or because their jobs do not allow them to telecommute", said Opsommer. "People can't just sell their homes to move closer to the jobs they are holding. So while I'm willing to partner with people and think outside the box, I'll vigorously fight any attempts by the federal government or foreign banking interests to foist unfair rules upon us that would manipulate the taxpayers of Michigan and take away our freedoms or right to travel."

Opsommer has introduced HCR 14 and HCR 22 in Michigan to help keep Michigan in control of its roadways.