ohio-turnpike.jpeg

Motorists pass through a toll booth for the Ohio Turnpike in Streetsboro.

(AP File Photo)

LANSING, MI -- Michigan could partner with private companies to operate and charge tolls on new highways or added lanes under a House Bill that has raised eyebrows in the ongoing debate over long-term road funding options.

The legislation, introduced by state Rep. Marilyn Lane (D-Fraser), would give the Michigan Department of Transportation expanded authority to enter into public-private agreements that could couple "user fees" with the long-term lease or construction of a transportation asset, including highways, bridges or tunnels.

Toll roads are not the main goal of the bill, according to Lane, who said she is focused on facilitating other forms of public-private partnerships that MDOT has already considered, such as sponsored rest stops that might advertise products or local attractions.

"I think people just become very suspicious," Lane, minority vice chair of the House Transportation Committee, said of the tolling provisions. "It just allows us to find every opportunity for additional revenues that we could add so we don't have to go into taxation. One of the things I think we could easily do is rest stops. We could lease our land for cell towers, because they're always looking for coverage."

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/8021834/"&amp;amp;gt;Should Michigan consider toll roads&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

The legislation is part of a 10-bill road funding and reform package backed by House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), who is seeking to increase annual infrastructure appropriations by up to $500 million. Most of that money would come from rededicating existing use and sales tax collections, and Lane's bill has not been promoted as a major revenue driver for the state.

MDOT already has the statutory authority to pursue various public-private procurement methods, according to the non-partisan House Fiscal Agency. That analysis, along with the bill's inclusion in the road funding package, has prompted critics to question whether lawmakers are seeking a round-about way of moving Michigan towards toll roads.

"If, for the first time in our history, toll roads and other tolled facilities not specifically approved case by case by the legislature will be a part of Michigan's road taxes package, shouldn't the public have a meaningful say in that major change?" said James C. Walker, executive director of the National Motorists Association Foundation.

"In no other state in the union is driving more synonymous with freedom than in Michigan ... It is one important item in Pure Michigan."

Beyond three bridges, Michigan does not currently operate any toll roads. Many of the state's largest highways were constructed using federal funding as part of the national Interstate Highways system.

Federal rules generally prohibit states form charging tolls on roads built with dollars from Washington D.C. That could change, however.

A White House transportation bill introduced last week would reportedly "open the door" for states to collect tolls on interstate highways in order to raise revenue for road repairs. The federal government, like Michigan, has been hit hard by reduced gas tax revenues that it sends back to individual states and is facing a looming deficit in the Highway Trust Fund.

"We believe that this is an area where the states have to make their own decisions," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said last week, per The Washington Post. "We want to open the aperture, if you will, to allow more states to choose to make broader use of tolling, to have that option available."

Lane introduced her bill last year before the federal proposal, and it specifies that user fees could only be applied to a new highway or a new lane added to an existing road -- not the conversion of existing interstates. Current law would require Michigan to obtain a waiver in either instance, she noted, although those rules could soon be relaxed.

The timing of the White House proposal and committee hearing on Lane's bill was "pure coincidence," according to MDOT spokesperson Jeff Cranson, who said toll roads might be worth talking about at some point in the future.

Unlike gas taxes, revenue would not be impacted by fuel-efficient cars, but

"it's nothing that we're advocating right now," said Cranson. "That would be a long process, and we're in crisis mode right now. We need immediate investment. Tolling is not a part of that."

The House Transportation Committee is scheduled to continue discussion on the road funding proposals Tuesday morning and may begin voting on various bills this week.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter