LANSING – Bills designed to raise $450 million annually for the state?s crumbling roads and bridges cleared the House floor Thursday.

Early last month House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) announced a plan that would raise $500 million annually by 2018 without raising taxes. While short of the $1.2 to $2 billion Governor Rick Snyder and others say is necessary, supporters of the package say it?s a good first step.

Rep. Marilyn Lane (D-Fraser), minority vice chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said if tackling the state?s road funding issue was so easy, ?it would have been taken care of a long, long time ago.?

?It isn?t perfect and we know this,? Lane said on the package of bills. ?But bear in mind, it is a good first step that hasn?t been taken in a long time. ? We hope that the Senate will partner with us and we will see it back again. We welcome all the changes. ?

HB 5167 and HB 4251 modify competitive bidding requirements for the Department of Transportation and local road agencies. The bills passed 108-1 and 92-17, respectively.

HB 4630, which makes some changes to the state?s registration fees, passed 90-19.

HB 5452 and HB 5453, which increases fines and permit fees for overweight trucks, passed 98-11 and 104-5, respectively.

HB 5460 concerning replacement warranties on the state?s roads passed 109-0.

Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), chair of the Transportation committee, said the package of bills represents a year and a half of work finally coming to summation.

?It?s simple, good roads equal good jobs and a strengthened economy,? he said.

HB 5477 passed 85-24, it would repeal the current fuel taxes and replace them with a 6 percent tax on the wholesale price. HB 5493 eliminates the flat tax on motor carriers, and passed 84-25.

The bulk of the package shifting about $370 million in sales and use tax collected on fuel from the General Fund to transportation, HB 5459 and HB 5492, passed with 91-18 votes.

An approved amendment on HB 5492 would put a seven-year sunset on the 1 percent of the use tax being put to roads.

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