Vote NO on Proposal 1, May 5th, 2015. It is the HIGHEST TAX INCREASE IN OVER 60 YEARS!
The Bolger Plan:
NOTE: Unfortunately, it should be noted that this plan violates the current Michigan Constitution in 3 ways, and even the US Constitution in 1 way. However, amendments are possible. After all, Proposal 15-1 is an amendment to the State Constitution.
Representatives Courser and Gramat reintroduces the Bolger Plan, HB 4317 and HB 4318.
A Roads Plan without raising taxes – We really can
do better than the Governor’s plan to increase the sales tax and give very
little of it to the potholes that line our commutes. With all of the focus of
our Governor and many “principalities” in high places on passing on this
massive new tax increase; I thought it best to reintroduce what has been
called, “The Bolger Plan,” which in its original form didn’t raise taxes and
yet raised enough money to deal with the road issues we now face. I have
reintroduced this plan as HB 4317 and HB 4318; a great many have warned me to
not do this given that it will undermine the Governor’s plan and again put me
at odds with him and I simply let these folks know I don’t work for the
Governor and he didn’t elect me. I work for the people of the state of
1. Ensure that every tax dollar that is collected
at the gas pump actually goes towards infrastructure maintenance and repair.
This ensures every tax dollar spent on gasoline is dedicated towards roads. We
also need to reform the way we build roads, and reform MDOT administration to
get more miles out of our infrastructure.
2. End the funding to the MEDC (HB 4194)– savings
$300 million annually – This is the main vehicle for corporate pork and welfare
in our state and to me it is awful to think our citizens can’t have the roads,
schools and emergency services they need because we are giving away the
people’s treasury to corporations.
3. End Prevailing Wage Gap in
4. End statutory revenue sharing- savings of over
400 million. This money should be prioritized to fixing county, township and
city roads instead of blank check. Simply reforming revenue sharing to stop
certain counties from benefiting at the expense of the rest of the counties
would move hundreds of millions to local roads.
5. End the subsidies for Amtrak-saving of of 40
million. These trains should be paid for through the user fees of the people
actually riding them and not balancing their books through government
subsidies. Taxpayers who never use these trains and are located hours away from
the nearest stop are paying for those who utilize the trains regularly, just
those riders can have cheaper tickets to the tune of 40 million dollars every
year.
6. End Defined Benefit Retirement for new incoming
public school teachers. – this will cost a bit up front to get it right, but
the savings if we pass this will be huge down the road! Right now we have
billions and billions in unfunded liabilities that leaves our state exposed to
financial difficulties for decades of we don’t tackle the problem. We need to
stop making more liabilities and give the new employees the chance to have a
401k or something similar and not put the citizens on the hook for liabilities
for a pension and then continue to never set aside the money to pay for the
liability.
7. Amend the state constitution to reallocate
money from the DNR Trust Fund. Currently, our state uses the revenue it obtains
from leasing mineral and gas rights to purchase land at a precipitous rate. The
state continues to purchase more and more land every year, which then it must
be maintained and patrolled at the taxpayer dime. The trust fund’s spending
requirements should be amended to stop future land purchases and ensure that
future mineral revenues go to at least partially toward infrastructure
maintenance and repair.
8. Reform Medicaid services that, according to the
9. End the film subsides (HB 4122) that could see
savings of around 50 million annually. While it is an adventure for voters of
my district see actors like Ben Affleck around town while filming the movie
“Batman vs. Superman” the return on our investment is not worth it; not to
mention the subsidizing of multi-billion dollar hollywood corporations that
increase their profits off the backs of the taxpayers.
10. End the MBT/MEGA tax credits that are blowing
a hole in our state budget to the tune 500 million dollars this year and an
estimated 9 plus billion dollars. This is one of the most egregious examples of
corporate welfare and special carve outs to benefit the pockets of corporate
special interests.
It is time we have leaders in

MAY 9, 2015 Prop 1 Results
Safe Roads Yes, last ditch effort to terrorize communities to vote yes on prop 1 fails. A resounding 80.1% of Michigan voters voted NO! Here in Alcona County, the number reached 86.4%. Great Job Everyone! Concerned Taxpayers of Michigan paid only $300,000 for ads, mailers, and the distribution of the truth. Safe Roads Yes had contributions from places like MITA (Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Authority) to the tune of $3 million. That wasteful spending could have been used on our roads.

May 5th, 2015 we will be voting on this terrible plan created by the special interests. There are so many other ways to make Michigan's roads better without making it harder to live here.
Read about the Bolger Plan to the left. It's one of many possibilities that don't require the HIGHEST TAX INCREASE IN OVER 60 YEARS!

CALL TO ACTION
Talk to your friends and family. Tell them to go vote on May 5th, 2015 and vote NO on Proposal 1. There are some polls out there stating that Prop 1 will not pass. This is how elections are lost. It makes people feel they don't need to vote because it won't pass anyway. Don't you believe it. Get out and Vote!
DO NOT BELIEVE THE THREATS!!!! Our Proposed Options that have been Ignored by Democrats: the Bolger Plan, Cutting Wasteful Spending, Eliminate Bailouts, etc. Here's their plan. VOTE YES, OR DIE! Their ads are lies and misleading. They are the Road Commission Unions who would get the contracts to fix our infrastructure. The Farm Bureau that wants to control our agriculture. Cities that take bribes ($50 million dollars was given to Detroit just to get some of our legislators to vote yes to the proposal making it to a ballot - this deal has already been done). DON'T Give in to BIG BUSINESS! Keep the special interests and cronies out of our lives. The ad below was paid for by Business Leaders For Michigan, PAC II, out of Detroit who made $50 million (general fund money that could go to help fix our roads).
Proposal 15-1 is the largest TAX HIKE / SCHEME in over 60 years. This ad is paid for by the Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interests, a non-profit organization.
Representative Tom McMillen (R - District 45) - Op-Ed on Prop 1: Sums it Up
Proposal 1 would have
voters condone and participate in the worst aspects of lawmaking they loathe in
their politicians. It is a massive package of unrelated bills, cobbled together
to get special interests on board. It is 46,000 words of details, few of which
are noted on the ballot language, leaving voters to "pass it to find out
what's in it." It was a hastily thrown-together package said to be needed
to address an emergency, when the emergency was created in the first place by
the politicians now pushing it.
Not to mention the substance of the proposal, which is so far outside the
mainstream--massive tax increases for a glut of new spending--that we can only
gape in awe at its audacity.
There are at least three ways to prove that Proposal 1's massive tax increases,
about $200 per year for every man, woman, and child in Michigan, are unnecessary.
First, simply observe that Michigan's
budget rose about $4.7 billion from fiscal year 2012 to FY 2015. The tax
increases "only" raise about $2 billion annually. New taxes would
only offset new spending, and obviously, this new spending hasn't gone to
roads.
Second, consider that the state House passed a plan last year to fully fix and
fund roads without any tax increases, by simply prioritizing new spending. This
proposal was blocked by the governor last December, but will certainly get a
new hearing if voters reject tax increases on May 5.
Finally, stop and notice that this situation is entirely ridiculous. Roads are
an ordinary budget item in forty-nine states. They should be a mundane part of
mundane budget discussions, not some political hostage brought before voters to
demand higher taxes than ever before.
The governor essentially says, "pass these tax increases, or you may die
on our roads," while he is the principal roadblock to legislation to fix
our roads without tax increases.
If voters reject the proposal, the legislature will have a mandate to fix roads
without massive tax increases. If they approve the proposal, expect more stunts
like this in the future.
There are five weeks remaining before the May 5 election.
Thanks for all you do for prosperity in Michigan,
Rep. Tom McMillin
As stated earlier, the polls say that the Proposal won't pass. That does not mean you can stay home. GO VOTE MAY 5th, 2015!
This video is about 30 minutes. Here's our Governor, Governor Snyder, spinning the truth. I feel so betrayed by him.