Snyder Vetoes Bill to Ax Road Cost-Sharing Law

Lansing, MI — Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday vetoed legislation that would have relieved large cities ofmillions of dollars of financial burden associated with the $1 billion Interstate 75 widening project through Oakland County and allowed them to use it for local projects instead.

The legislation that would have eliminated the cost-share funds, sponsored by Sen. Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy, was unanimously approved by the Legislature, but state transportation vehemently opposed it.

In a veto letter, Snyder said the Michigan Department of Transportation would have had to shift money away from rural area to pay for the cities’ share of the I-75 project, leaving rural communities with fewer “main street” projects.

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“The bill seeks to mitigate a provision that can, on occasion, create road funding challenges for some communities,” Snyder said in a statement. “However, eliminating local government cost sharing altogether is a piecemeal approach to what needs to be a much broader discussion.”

Knollenberg has said the complex matching formula is unfair because only a handful of communities have to pay.

• SEE ALSO: Cities Oppose I-75 Road Cost-Sharing Law

The reason some communities pay and others don’t is found buried in a 1951 law that requires cities and villages with at least 25,000 residents to chip in local funding to support MDOT projects.