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Proposal 1: Safety for Michigan Families, Guarantees for Taxpayers
We’ve all done it: we’ve swerved to avoid a deep pothole on a Michigan road or bridge. Most of the time nothing happens. But sometimes we end up in the ditch, or hitting another car.
Someday someone will swerve and hit a school bus, or an ambulance. Or a pothole will send a
driver careening into oncoming traffic – or a tree.
We’ve all seen it: the plywood fastened underneath overpasses to keep chunks of concrete from
falling on our heads. Someday a chunk will fall off a bridge without plywood, or whole portions
of a bridge will collapse.
Let’s face it: Michigan’s roads and bridges have gone from bumpy, to bad, to awful, to
dangerous − maybe even deadly. We can’t pretend there isn’t a problem anymore, or that we currently have the cash to fix it. Proposal 1 is our last best chance to turn things around and get safer roads.
Proposal 1 Means Safer Roads & Bridges
Proposal 1 generates the funds we need to makes Michigan’s roads and bridges safe again. It raises $1.2 billion in new transportation money each year.
Proposal 1’s Three Guarantees
The best part of Proposal 1 is it gives taxpayers three strong guarantees:
1. Every penny in state taxes we pay at the pump is guaranteed to go to transportation.
Proposal 1ends the shell game played by the politicians in Lansing that shifts gas taxes
to non-transportation purposes.
2. Every penny in the School Aid Fund is guaranteed in the constitution to fund education
where it helps our kids the most: our K-12 schools and community colleges. No more
shell games with education funding.
3. Taxpayers even get guarantees from the road builders for local road projects. Road
builders would have to provide guarantees in the form of warranties on the roads they
build. If the roads are not built right, the road builders — not taxpayers — will pay for
the repairs.
Proposal 1’s Strongest Supporters
The Safe Roads Yes on Proposal 1 coalition now includes nearly 85 member organizations. Our
strongest backers are Michigan business, police, and firefighter organizations including the
Detroit Regional Chamber, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Business Leaders for
Michigan, Small Business Association of Michigan, Michigan Manufacturers Association, Lansing
Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce, Southwest
Michigan First, West Michigan Policy Forum, the Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association,
Consumers Energy, Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs, Michigan Fire Inspectors Society, Police Officers Association
of Michigan, Michigan State Firemen's Association, and more.
Proposal 1 is Plan A (and Plan B)
Proposal 1 is our last best chance to turn things around and get safer roads. Michigan’s top elected leaders including Gov. Rick Snyder, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West
Olive, and House Speaker Kevin Cotter, R-Mt. Pleasant, have said repeatedly there are no viable
or realistic alternatives to Proposal 1. If it fails, there is little to no chance the Legislature will
craft and pass something better. Here is a direct quote from Sen. Meekhof in remarks he made
to the Michigan Press Association on Feb. 6:
“Give me the list of 20 items that you’re going to cut that is going to give me $1 billion every year and give me 56 votes, 20 votes and a governor who will sign them all. That’s the piece that’s missing. What’s the solution? They (opponents of Prop 1) don’t have one.”