Governor Whitmer says the money from recreational pot sales is not enough.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There may be a way we can finally "fix the damn roads," and it could be sooner than expected, now that the auto insurance dilemma has been solved.

On Thursday, Governor Whitmer addressed her 45 cent gas tax proposal and says there's no reason a road-funding deal can't be nailed down within a month.

GOP leaders have already rejected the increase because it would make the state's gas and diesel fuel tax the highest in the nation.

If the 45 cents a gallon gas hike gets approved, it would bring in $2.5 billion a year to fix the roads. Last month Ohio, Alabama and Arkansas signed similar fuel tax hikes, but they were much less than the proposed 45 cent increase.

While at the Mackinac Island Policy Conference, Whitmer said she's asked about marijuana all the time, specifically about why the funding from recreational marijuana sales isn't enough to fix the roads.

"The taxes for marijuana would raise $42 million a year. Every man woman and child would have to smoke about $2500 of marijuana a year to fix our roads. And let's be honest, at that level, nobody is going to care about the damn roads," Whitmer said.

But some say a higher price at the pump is not the answer.

"What kinds of materials are you using to fix the roads in the beginning, because I feel like if you use better material to fix the roads it'll last longer, don't hike up the gas to fix the roads," one driver said.

Patrick DeHaan from GasBuddy said it's unlikely that kind of increase will get approved.

"Illinois is proposing 18 cents, new jersey increased their tax a few years ago 23 cents, but 45 cents a gallon - that's certainly sticker shock," DeHaan said. "As a motorist myself who often drives to Michigan, I would say zero out of 10 people would rather pay $3.34 a gallon than $2.89."

He said there would be major ramifications.

"It would cause people to avoid Michigan taxes, filling up out of the state before they come into the state," DeHaan said. "It would cause a lot of stations near the state line of Michigan to go out of business."

One driver said it should come out of the taxes we already pay,

"As much money as you're taking from all of us each year, that should be enough to fix the roads."

DeHaan said 45 cents is the largest proposed gas tax he's ever seen. He said, it's more likely to be a 15 cent hike, following the lead of other states. Which means instead of the roads being fixed immediately, it would happen within the next few years.

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