Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

A pair of $3 billion local road funding plans out of Lansing both call for using all sales tax collected at the pump to pay for repairs. However, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposes raising taxes on wholesale cannabis to make up the revenue, while House Republicans are calling for no new taxes.

The County Road Association of Michigan is among those keeping a close eye on negotiations.

"It's very encouraging, speaking on behalf of 83 county road commissions and road departments, that we have some substantial funding being talked about. Some specific sources being talked about. We haven't seen that in probably a decade," says CEO Denise Donohue.

Whitmer supporters point to current projects, including I-96 and I-696, as proof her office is "fixing the damn roads." But Donohue points out those are federally funded projects, having nothing to do with local roads.

"Federal aid is the third largest source of money for a county road agency, and two-thirds of the roads in any average county do not qualify for federal aid," she says.

"That is really where the hurt is, our paved roads that are not eligible for federal aid."

Donohue also is encouraged to see both proposals would steer all sales tax collected at the pump, specifically to roads. It's something she says many taxpayers don't realize is not happening currently.

"We have a six percent sales tax on gas. So if gas is a hair over $3 a gallon, we have 19 cents per gallon that's not going to roads," she said.

"It's going to very good places. It's going to our schools. It's going to our municipal and township governments, so very good places, but it's not going to roads. I think this would be a big move toward transparency and putting the money where people think it's going."

Whichever plan is finally approved, Donohue says Michigan drivers can expected a "mix of fixes" down the road.

"We often don't fix the worst road first. We generally don't. They're looking at where do we get more bang for the buck? Where do we have more traffic? Where is a road that can be rehabilitated or preserved at a lesser cost rather than going all the way to total reconstruct?"

"There are roads in Michigan right now that are being turned back to gravel because we don't have the funds to preserve them in a safe driving condition."

Listen to an extended interview with Donohue WHMI's Viewpoint linked below.