Billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert is laying the groundwork for launching a citizens petition campaign to overhaul Michigan's no-fault auto insurance law if the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can't reach an agreement on reform legislation.

The Quicken Loans Inc. founder and chairman could officially form a campaign committee later this week, Gilbert's lobbyist confirmed Monday to Crain's.

"We have said all along that we will take the necessary steps to prepare for a ballot initiative only if there is no resolution at the negotiating table," Jared Fleisher, vice president of government affairs for Quicken Loans, said in a statement to Crain's. "But we are hopeful and optimistic that ongoing, good-faith negotiations between the governor and Legislature will lead to an agreement that delivers real and significant savings for Michigan drivers."

Under Michigan's constitution, Gilbert could bankroll the cost of gathering more than 340,000 valid voter signatures for a voter-initiated law that would be submitted to the Legislature for its approval — which Whitmer could not veto. Or the measure could be placed on the 2020 ballot for voter approval — a much costlier and riskier proposition.

A Gilbert-initiated auto insurance law could be shaped to mirror the legislation that passed the House and Senate earlier this month, imposing a drastically lower fee schedule than the rates hospitals and medical providers can charge auto no-fault carriers.

Gilbert's ballot campaign move — first reported Sunday by The Detroit News — comes as legislative leaders and Whitmer are negotiating on a compromise overhaul of Michigan's auto insurance system, which requires motorists purchase lifetime unlimited medical care for auto injuries.

With billions of dollars at stake, a fee schedule for medical providers is said to be one of the biggest obstacles to getting a deal done ahead of next week's Mackinac Policy Conference, the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual gathering of business and political leaders at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said Monday on WFDF 910 AM that "great progress" was made in the negotiations over the weekend.

"I don't think it changes the dynamics much," Shirkey said about Gilbert's ballot campaign move.

As of Monday, no formal paperwork for a ballot committee had been filed with the state Bureau of Elections, according to a spokesman.

Gilbert has been pushing lawmakers for years to take steps to rein in the high cost of auto insurance in Michigan, arguing the cost is barrier for his businesses to attract skilled talent to work and live in Detroit, where no-fault rates routinely top $5,000 per vehicle.

"The current Michigan auto insurance no-fault law is the single biggest obstacle in the way of retaining and attracting talent and further growing Detroit and Michigan's economy," Fleisher said.

Crain's first reported in November that Gilbert was threatening to launch a signature-gathering campaign by mid-2019 if the Legislature failed to act.

At the time, Gilbert's lobbyists were trying to get a no-fault bill moving in the lame duck session. After that effort fizzled in the House, they started over with a new Legislature in January.

Earlier this month, the House and Senate passed their own no-fault bills largely along party lines.

Gilbert's associates have indicated that if they pursue a ballot initiative, the proposed law would mirror the "driver's choice" legislation that has already passed the Legislature.

Whitmer said last week she wants to see a minimum of $250,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) for auto accident injuries. Michigan is the only state in the nation that requires motorists to purchase unlimited medical PIP coverage.

The governor's comments last week mark the first time she has said she's open to allowing drivers to choose different levels of PIP overage above $250,000 — a level of coverage that mirrors the plan Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan unsuccessfully sought in 2017.

"We've got PIP choice firmly established," Shirkey said on "The Nolan Finley Show."

The Republican-authored plans that passed the House and Senate would allow motorists to shed PIP coverage if they have health insurance that covers auto injuries, such as Medicare for residents over age 65 who routinely see their insurance premiums rise when they retire and move from private insurance to the government's health care safety net.

"Zero coverage is not an option," Whitmer said Thursday in Dearborn. "It's a giveaway to the insurance industry where we still pay premiums, yet they don't have to pay when we're hurt. I think having some coverage is really important. And we can't shift the cost of all of this onto the taxpayers."

Michigan's Medicaid administrators estimate the annual cost of the state-federal health insurance program for the poor would rise sharply by $83 million in the first year if Medicaid recipients are allowed to opt out of buying PIP medical coverage on their auto insurance policies.

"That's an extremely conservative estimate," said Bob Wheaton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. "If a significant number of drivers chose zero coverage under the Republican bills, the cost could be significantly higher."

The nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency reached a vastly different cost estimate of a $65.9 million increase in costs for the Medicaid program in the 10th year of implementation.

But Senate analysts acknowledged it's uncertain guesswork trying to estimate how many motorists would drive without PIP coverage that pays for lost wages, round-the-clock attendant care and housing modifications for severely injured motorists.

"This figure would depend on the interest in unlimited PIP coverage," Senate Fiscal Agency analysts wrote in a fiscal note to lawmakers. "The more people who purchased unlimited PIP coverage, the lower the Medicaid costs would be. If there were less interest in unlimited PIP coverage, then the increase in Medicaid costs would be greater."

Crain's reported last week private employers also could face increased health insurance claims as their employees stop buying unlimited medical coverage for auto accident injuries.