(MPRN-Lansing) Republicans in Lansing are sniping at each other over the impasse in road funding.
Senate Majority Leader ArlanMeekhof (R-West Olive) lobbed a dart and called on his House counterpart to hold an up-or-down vote on the Senate version of a road funding plan.
“I believe this is a very, very good deal,” he said. “I’ve said it publicly. There’s probably enough in it for everybody to dislike something, so it’s probably the right deal.”
The Senate plan links a gas tax increase to an income tax rollback. Democrats say the tax reduction would hurt services for working families.
But Republican House Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-Mt. Pleasant) says without a deal with Democrats, holding a vote would be an empty gesture. His spokesman signaled that the Senate leader meddling in House affairs was not welcome.
“He should know there is no deal, so I’m not sure what deal we’re talking about here that should be voted on anytime soon,”
said press secretary Gideon D’Assandro. D’Assandro says there’s still informal discussions going on in an effort to resume serious negotiations.
