Like A CHILD: Meekhof Blasted By Cotter+Greimel After Abandoning Road Talks

Sen. Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Actually,forget the headline- I offer my apologies to all the great Michigan kids out there who are far more classy and reasonable than Senate Majority Leader Meekhof.

Turns out, Meekhof recently bailed on a key road funding meeting after he was upset he wasn’t getting everything he wanted. Get this: Meekhof wants to essentially FORCE the House to vote on a bill!

Derp. Meekhof knows better than that…

Meekhof was subsequently taken to task for his ignorant behavior by Speaker Cotter and Minority Leader Tim Greimel.

According to WOOD TV:

“The Republican speaker of the House, Kevin Cotter, on Tuesday indicated Meekhof’s demand for a vote isn’t possible.

“Senate Majority Leader Meekhof abruptly left the last quadrant meeting early because Rep. Greimel changed his mind on an income tax cut, so he should know there is no deal,” a spokesperson for Cotter said in part in a statement.

Greimel said he wants to keep talking. But after listening to some of the leaders, it is not clear that the atmosphere is conducive to a deal.

“I want to continue talking with the other quadrant leaders. I made that very clear last week when Arlan rushed out of the room like a child when he couldn’t get his way,” Greimel said.”

If Michigan has any chance of getting a roads deal, Meekhof needs to step up his game, and QUICK.

Pissing off all the major stakeholders hardly seems like a good strategy on roads-will this be indicative of how Meekhof runs his 2018 Gubernatorial campaign he’s so hot to pursue? 

According to MIRS, the House has voted on their own plan.

""With negotiations on a bicameral, bipartisan road-funding plan essentially stalled, House Republicans took the wheel tonight, approving their own $1.2-billion transportation proposal."

>>>And it's full of new taxes and fees for Michigan families:

"The main components are:

• A 3.3-cent increase in the state's 19-cents-a-gallon gas tax in October 2018, with annual inflationary hikes in 2022 and after;
• A 4-cent hike in the 15-cent diesel tax in October 2017 and a 3.3-cent increase in October 2018, with inflationary adjustments in 2022 and beyond;
• A 40 percent boost in license plate fees in October 2016, averaging $40 more per passenger vehicle;
• A dedicated annual shift from the $9.9 billion general fund to the roads budget, starting at $150 million in 2018-19 and rising to $600 million in 2020-21.

Also included are:

• A yearly reduction in the 4.25 percent personal income tax, starting in the 2022 tax year, if revenues outpace inflation. If the provision were currently in effect, the rate in the 2016 tax year would have dropped to 3.92 percent and reduced revenue by $680 million, according to the House Fiscal Agency.
• A an expanded income tax credit for homeowners and renters, so more those earning up to $60,000 are eligible — above the current $50,000 limit
• and the credit itself is bigger.

Overall, it is expected to raise an additional $1.2 billion annually for roads by 2021. However, initially, it is expected to increase funding by about $400 million."

Stay tuned…

_______________________________________________________________________
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.

>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com

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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson