Michigan's spending

The surprising announcement marks a change for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who previously vowed to veto any Republican budget plan without roads funding. The change seems intended to prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

As a government shutdown looms, GOP leaders will begin vetting a budget plan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hasn’t signed off on. The two sides are far apart on roads and infrastructure funding and on whether to raise taxes for the effort. 

Republicans have said the hefty tax hike is dead on arrival. That’s why Democrats should start considering other alternatives to raise $2.5 billion for roads, House Minority Leader Christine Greig said. 

Time is running out for legislative leaders and the governor to come to an agreement on how to spend the state’s nearly $60 billion budget.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is portraying GOP legislative leaders as failing to seriously negotiate on how to raise $2.5 billion to repair the state’s roads and bridges. Now, the business community is exerting its own pressure on the GOP.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to solve the state’s crumbling roads with a 45-cent gas tax, money that she says would fix Michigan’s woeful roads. It would cost more but, she said, also save motorists hundreds in repair costs each year.

Senate Republicans adopted a state transportation budget without any new long-term funding for roads. That proposal will come this summer, Republicans said.

The new governor urges a state spending increase of 3.6 percent, with the centerpiece a 45-cent gas tax hike. She also proposes spending more for schools and to protect drinking water. The budget will test bipartisan pledges with state Republicans.