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Oceana republicans
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To: MIGOP, Second District Republican Committee, Michigan State House Republican Caucus, Mason County Republican Committee, Lake County Republican Committee, Newaygo County Republican Committee, Muskegon County Republican Committee, Ottawa County Republican Committee, Kent County Republican Committee, Allegan County Republican Committee, et al
Cc: Speaker of the House, State Representative Scott Van Singel
As Republicans, we are generally known for two things:
Less government and less taxes. Lessening the two fosters freedom. Freedom was our party’s Founding Principle, lest we forget.
House Bill (HB) 4963 allows a County Board of Commissioners to spend county government time and tax payer money to ask the voters of their county if they would actually like to pay more at the fuel pump to fix their roads. Voters have already voted against fuel tax increases, and the greatest state ballot question defeat since at least 1963 in recent memory was just four years ago…involving a gas tax increase. Clearly, the Citizens of Michigan want the State of Michigan to fix the roads with the tax dollars they already collect. We are ranked #8 out of 50 states for the highest gas tax as it is. Additionally, the Michigan Constitution states that collection of direct taxes for fuel can be “cost allocated”: meaning the State gets to skim something off the top for every dollar collected at the local level. Across 83 counties. At every fuel pump.
HB 4964, amongst other things, will allow a County Board of Commissioners to ask the voters if they would like to pay more for their Vehicle Registration so the additional amount goes to fix their local roads. Michigan’s registration is based on Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) which is always higher than what a new vehicle buyer actually pays. Additionally, not all of us actually DRIVE a new vehicle either. This explains why many Michigan citizens pay more than the $86 (liberal) California rate, $51.75(conservative) Texas rate, or the $8 it costs to register a vehicle in Arizona. This bill also specifically mentions that “cost allocation”, as mentioned above, SHALL occur: cost allocation means that for every tax dollar the State processes, a portion of it is kept by the State, before the remainder is returned to us at the county level to fix our roads.
HB 5229 speaks of “Joint Endeavors” and goes way beyond traditional road funding as mentioned above. Joint endeavors are for local units of government, such as counties, who work together toward a common, interconnecting project. As it relates to transportation, what “joint endeavor” will one county have with another county, requiring its own millage money request? We already have more roads than we can fix, it seems, so we are led to assume that this bill is not about roads. It is about Bike Paths and Mass Transportation.
Bike Paths and Mass Transportation are new to Michigan in a “regional” context. It will require money. And a lot of it. It is perceived by us that this is why the language of HB 5229, item 4 states:
“If a joint endeavor levies a millage under this section, the number of mills levied by that joint endeavor does not count toward the *CONSTITUTIONAL or statutory number of mills limitation for each participant (county).
*Emphasis Added
It is interesting that this bill will deny state constitutional limits for tax millages, which, to our mind, makes this House Bill unconstitutional. No law should abridge, amend, or nullify the Constitution of the State of Michigan.
Additionally, from the Oceana County Republican Committee’s perspective, now enjoying the 21st century, why should we wish to regress ourselves to 19th century transportation technology by asking for an “up to” 5 MILL tax increase to make a Bike Path? As for Mass Transportation, Oceana County Republicans do travel to Lansing and Detroit and have noticed that their mass transit buses and trains are already under-utilized (“damn near empty” to use Oceana County Republican parlance).
The Oceana County Republican Committee, upon review of the above 3 mentioned House Bills, ask the State of Michigan to correct itself. We are taxed enough already. Asking us to decide if we want to be taxed more to solve your failures is very much a waste of our own resources. Instead, we ask you to tax yourselves: not by tax dollars, but by mental energy. We are already among the highest fuel taxed states in the Union. Make use of what you TAKE from us. We are already among the highest assessed (taxed) states in the Union for vehicle registration: again, make the most of what you already TAKE from us. Lastly, Mass Transportation is an overpriced/underutilized scheme that has failed Lansing and Detroit and we do not wish to be like them, Lord help us, if those are the best examples you have. Nor do we wish to see our Transportation needs via roadways being replaced by bicycle paths that might make the historic users of the Ho Chi Minh Trail astounded. Bike Paths are paved with at least 3” of asphalt, the same many of our roads are supposed to be. But many are not. The Viet Cong would only marvel.
In Closing, I give you a reminder: less taxes and less government fosters freedom. Please, give us freedom from your cowardly attempt to voluntarily condemn ourselves to financial slavery to preserve your political futures.
We Vote No.
Respectfully yours,
Oceana County Republicans
Signed,
Andrew Sebolt
Chairman
Oceana County Republicans
December 10, 2019
Cc: Speaker of the House, State Representative Scott Van Singel
As Republicans, we are generally known for two things:
Less government and less taxes. Lessening the two fosters freedom. Freedom was our party’s Founding Principle, lest we forget.
House Bill (HB) 4963 allows a County Board of Commissioners to spend county government time and tax payer money to ask the voters of their county if they would actually like to pay more at the fuel pump to fix their roads. Voters have already voted against fuel tax increases, and the greatest state ballot question defeat since at least 1963 in recent memory was just four years ago…involving a gas tax increase. Clearly, the Citizens of Michigan want the State of Michigan to fix the roads with the tax dollars they already collect. We are ranked #8 out of 50 states for the highest gas tax as it is. Additionally, the Michigan Constitution states that collection of direct taxes for fuel can be “cost allocated”: meaning the State gets to skim something off the top for every dollar collected at the local level. Across 83 counties. At every fuel pump.
HB 4964, amongst other things, will allow a County Board of Commissioners to ask the voters if they would like to pay more for their Vehicle Registration so the additional amount goes to fix their local roads. Michigan’s registration is based on Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) which is always higher than what a new vehicle buyer actually pays. Additionally, not all of us actually DRIVE a new vehicle either. This explains why many Michigan citizens pay more than the $86 (liberal) California rate, $51.75(conservative) Texas rate, or the $8 it costs to register a vehicle in Arizona. This bill also specifically mentions that “cost allocation”, as mentioned above, SHALL occur: cost allocation means that for every tax dollar the State processes, a portion of it is kept by the State, before the remainder is returned to us at the county level to fix our roads.
HB 5229 speaks of “Joint Endeavors” and goes way beyond traditional road funding as mentioned above. Joint endeavors are for local units of government, such as counties, who work together toward a common, interconnecting project. As it relates to transportation, what “joint endeavor” will one county have with another county, requiring its own millage money request? We already have more roads than we can fix, it seems, so we are led to assume that this bill is not about roads. It is about Bike Paths and Mass Transportation.
Bike Paths and Mass Transportation are new to Michigan in a “regional” context. It will require money. And a lot of it. It is perceived by us that this is why the language of HB 5229, item 4 states:
“If a joint endeavor levies a millage under this section, the number of mills levied by that joint endeavor does not count toward the *CONSTITUTIONAL or statutory number of mills limitation for each participant (county).
*Emphasis Added
It is interesting that this bill will deny state constitutional limits for tax millages, which, to our mind, makes this House Bill unconstitutional. No law should abridge, amend, or nullify the Constitution of the State of Michigan.
Additionally, from the Oceana County Republican Committee’s perspective, now enjoying the 21st century, why should we wish to regress ourselves to 19th century transportation technology by asking for an “up to” 5 MILL tax increase to make a Bike Path? As for Mass Transportation, Oceana County Republicans do travel to Lansing and Detroit and have noticed that their mass transit buses and trains are already under-utilized (“damn near empty” to use Oceana County Republican parlance).
The Oceana County Republican Committee, upon review of the above 3 mentioned House Bills, ask the State of Michigan to correct itself. We are taxed enough already. Asking us to decide if we want to be taxed more to solve your failures is very much a waste of our own resources. Instead, we ask you to tax yourselves: not by tax dollars, but by mental energy. We are already among the highest fuel taxed states in the Union. Make use of what you TAKE from us. We are already among the highest assessed (taxed) states in the Union for vehicle registration: again, make the most of what you already TAKE from us. Lastly, Mass Transportation is an overpriced/underutilized scheme that has failed Lansing and Detroit and we do not wish to be like them, Lord help us, if those are the best examples you have. Nor do we wish to see our Transportation needs via roadways being replaced by bicycle paths that might make the historic users of the Ho Chi Minh Trail astounded. Bike Paths are paved with at least 3” of asphalt, the same many of our roads are supposed to be. But many are not. The Viet Cong would only marvel.
In Closing, I give you a reminder: less taxes and less government fosters freedom. Please, give us freedom from your cowardly attempt to voluntarily condemn ourselves to financial slavery to preserve your political futures.
We Vote No.
Respectfully yours,
Oceana County Republicans
Signed,
Andrew Sebolt
Chairman
Oceana County Republicans
December 10, 2019