Courtesy Photo State Rep. for Northeast Michigan Cam Cavitt, left, and Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan pose for a photo before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State address on Wednesday. McLennan was the special guest of Cavitt’s for the event.

ALPENA — During her State of the State speech on Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urged the legislature to craft a long-term funding plan for roads and warned businesses in the state they may have to pick up a large portion of the cost.

The message was not well received by Northeast Michigan’s representative in the State House or its State Senate.

During her speech, Whitmer said the only way to forge a new and sustainable road-funding plan is not to try to make suits and allocate more money to infrastructure, but to create new revenue streams.

Whitmer said she did not want to increase the tax burden for the middle-class and low-income families and told business owners they would need to be a part of the long-term solution by paying a higher tax rate.

“To my friends in the GOP, a long-term fix means new, fair sources of revenue,” Whitmer said. “We can’t cut our way to better roads by slashing public safety, health or schools. To my fellow Democrats, cuts will need to be a part of the solution.”

The governor did not give any insight on the details of her plan on Wednesday, but earlier this month, Whitmer called for $1.6 billion in new tax revenue from businesses, including a higher tax on marijuana, as well as adding a tax to digital advertising.

State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, said the governor has repeatedly promised to address the roads in Michigan since before she became governor in 2018.

He said there are enough cuts in other areas of the budget to pay for road improvements and he did not support raising taxes on businesses, many of which are struggling with inflation and high interest rates.

“It sounds like the governor only has concepts of a plan if she’s just now starting to ‘think Michigan,'” Cavitt said in a statement after the speech. “To her credit, the governor did recently announce her roads plan, but she’s yet to explain why it took her six years to ‘think’ of and why she wants to raise taxes to get it done. We don’t need new fees on tow truck operators and kids working themselves through college with a delivery job. We don’t have to raise taxes at all. The only thought put into the governor’s plan was spent figuring out how to squeeze every penny out of our hardworking public.”

Cavitt said Whitmer has lost focus on issues that are important to most Michigan families and is more concerned with federal government matters because she intends to run for president in 2028.

“It’s clear what’s been on the governor’s mind in the meantime,” Cavitt said. “She’s thinking about Chinese businesses, green energy activists, and her future presidential campaign. She should’ve been thinking about Michigan for the past six years and maybe our roads would be in a lot better shape if she had. Luckily, House Republicans have a robust plan that does not raise taxes, and it does not require another second of thought.”

Whitmer has not declared that she intends to run for president, but her name was tossed around as a potential candidate after President Biden announced he was pulling out of the 2024 election.

Since taking office, the state government has invested over $19 billion into Michigan’s roads and bridges as part of her Rebuilding Michigan bond plan, helping to fix more than 23,000 lane miles of road and 1,600 bridges. The bonding plan ends this year, and there is still much work to be done as roads, especially in rural areas of the state, continue to grade poorly.

State Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, said every year Whitmer promises to address the state’s failing roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure, but for the most part, the promises are left unkept.

She said she will not support a plan that raises taxes on businesses or residents.

“The governor campaigned on ‘fixing the damn roads.’ Six years and billions of dollars later, there’s still no long-term solution,” Hoitenga said in a press release. “Now, she says that the only way to fix the roads is by taking more of your tax dollars. Republicans have a plan to fix the roads without raising taxes — that’s the plan I will be supporting.”

After Whitmer’s speech, the Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) chimed in on the state government trying to find common ground on a long-term funding plan for roads.

In a press release, MAC said counties are responsible for about three out of every four road miles in Michigan and its member Michigan counties are pleased to hear there is a strong focus on infrastructure in Whitmer’s speech.

“We look forward to being a partner in the governor’s road discussion to ensure more money is coming to county roads,” MAC Board President Melissa Daub said. “As the governor said, ‘Let’s get back to the negotiating table in the coming days and weeks to find a long-term, bipartisan solution so we can fix more of those damn roads.'”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.