Legislation providing bigger incentives for large businesses passed the Michigan House in a bipartisan fashion Wednesday after an initial push to passage was derailed by allegations that Gov. Rick Snyder made a deal with Democrats to ensure it got through.

The 'Good Jobs' bills, Senate bills 242-244, create tax incentives for large job providers by letting companies keep up to 100 percent of withholding taxes for certain new employees. The bills initially passed the Senate in March, and Snyder has thrown his support behind the legislation.

The Michigan House voted 71-35 on each of the three bills in the package, with Republicans and Democrats falling on both sides of the issue. The Senate concurred the House changes to the bills Wednesday afternoon.

In a statement, Snyder said the package "sends the signal that we are pressing forward to ensure the strongest possible future."

"We are ensuring a future economy that is diversified and will stand on solid footing, with new jobs for Michiganders for the foreseeable future," he said.

After pending in the House Tax Policy Committee for months, the bills appeared to be on a fast-track in June when the committee agreed to some major amendments and reported the bills to the floor on a 9-3 margin.

But consideration came to an abrupt halt later that evening when House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt, received information Democrats and Snyder may have cut a deal Republicans found unsavory.

Leonard ultimately voted against the package Wednesday, saying in a statement following the vote he considers the bills "bad tax policy" that allows the government to pick economic winners and losers.

"I believe Senate Bills 242-244 are bad for Michigan, and I believe they are especially bad for the community that chose me as its representative," he said in the statement. "However, a majority of my colleagues disagreed and chose to pursue these bills. I respect their opinion; I simply do not share it."

Rep. Brian Elder, D-Bay City, told reporters he was unaware of any deals with the governor, but said a majority of Democrats were ready to pass the legislation a month ago based on amendments made at the committee level.

Supporters of the legislation on both sides of the aisle said the package would give Michigan a competitive edge against other states with significant business incentives for companies considering new locations.

Rep. Jason Sheppard, R-Temperance, said Michigan is "essentially in an arms race" with bordering states and the rest of the country for new business.

Rep. Leslie Love, D-Detroit, said she understands the concerns from those opposing the bill, but said she supports the idea as an opportunity to create thousands of new jobs in Michigan.

"It's an opportunity to bring people back who left the state when their jobs were eliminated," she said.

Conservatives in the Legislature slammed the bills, with Rep. Martin Howrylak, R-Troy, likening the package to "taking from the poor and giving to the rich."

The package was opposed by the conservative group Michigan Freedom Fund. The group's director, Tony Daunt, called the legislation "crony capitalist tax giveaways" and criticized Snyder and the Legislature for supporting big businesses instead of providing income tax relief to average citizens.

Senate bills 242-244 would create incentives for the following:

A company that created at least 250 jobs that paid at least 125 percent of the average regional wage would be eligible to receive 100 percent of employee withholding taxes for 10 years.

A company that created at least 500 jobs paying at least average regional wage would be eligible to receive 50 percent of employee withholding taxes for 5 years.

A company that created at least 3,000 jobs would be eligible to receive 100 percent of employee withholding taxes for 10 years.

Overall, the state could approve 15 such projects per year for incentives, and obligate the state to give up revenues of up to $200 million. That's a change from the version of the bills the Senate passed in March, which allowed the state to give out up to $250 million.

Other amendments changed the timing of the bill. The Senate-passed bill had a 180-day implementation window that amendments in the House would narrow to 30 days. The amended version pending in the House also sunsets the bill on Dec. 31, 2019, meaning that if the legislature does not decide to expand the program it will close to new businesses.