Voters vehemently reject Proposal 1

Published 9:45 pm Tuesday, May 5, 2015

It appears that Michigan lawmakers will be heading back to the drawing board when it comes to solving the issue of repairing the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.

Voters have sent Lansing’s complex solution for funding repairs to Michigan’s infrastructure into the scrap heap, voting no to Proposal 1 at the ballots Tuesday, according to voting projections reported by The Detroit Free Press. The proposal, which, among other measures, would have raised the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent, is projected to be shot down by a margin of nearly 4-1.

Cass County residents who hit the polls Tuesday fell in line with the rest of the state electorate. With all but three county precincts reporting, early results from Electionmagic.com show local voters rejecting the proposal by nearly 65 percent margin.

If passed, Proposal 1 would have raised more than $1 billion worth of funding for road repairs, through the enactment of 10 pieces of legislation. Besides the aforementioned sales tax increase, the proposal would have eliminated sales tax from gasoline sales, and would have instituted a variable rate for the state’s gas tax that would have fluctuated with the price of oil. It would have also enacted several over reforms, including eliminating universities from receiving funds through the state school aid fund, and would increased the state Earned Income Tax Credit.

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