LANSING ? Michigan House and Senate leaders have decided to put legislation that would increase funding for roads into a House-Senate conference committee in hopes a compromise can be found using that legislative mechanism.

The decision came after a Tuesday meeting of the Legislative Quadrant and Governor Rick Snyder.

Spokespersons for House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) said this evening that logistics, such as who will serve on the conference committee or committees as well as how many committees will be needed, are still undergoing work.

The one bill assured of going to conference is HB 5477 , the main bill that would convert the state’s gasoline tax to a percentage-based tax and increase it enough to raise at least $1 billion in new revenue.

Three House members and three Senate members will serve on each committee with two Republicans and one Democrat from each chamber.

Richardville spokesperson Amber McCann said she anticipated the Senate, where HB 5477 now sits, would non-concur in the House version of the bill Wednesday, formally triggering the conference committee process.

“Both the House and Senate leadership do want to see a plan for roads before we leave for the year, and the majority leader feels a conference committee would be the best place to work through the points of difference in these pieces of legislation,” McCann said. “If there are more representatives from the House and the Senate working together, then the chances for buy-in, in both chambers, is greater on whatever that compromise is.”

In a week where little headway on a compromise on the issue is expected, the decision to put the bill into a conference committee accomplishes two items.

One, it gives officials at least some type of progress to tout, even if small.

Two, if and when a conference committee agrees to a compromise and signs a conference report, once that bill hits the House floor (and then the Senate if it passes the House), it cannot be amended. That limits any potential for rogue actions that could muck up a deal.

Still, it is a bit unusual. Conference committees typically are used for budget bills, not policy ones.

The Senate plan would gradually increase, over several years, the gasoline tax to 15.5 percent on the wholesale price, more than doubling the revenue generated by the existing 19 cents per gallon gasoline tax and 15 cents per gallon diesel tax.

By contrast, the House plan would phase in an increase to 13.5 percent over six years. But the House also passed HB 4539 , which would phase out the 6 percent sales tax on gasoline purchases over six years.

That move would take away $1 billion in revenue, most of which goes to K-12 schools and local governments, and has been blasted by Democrats as well as school and local government officials. Governor Rick Snyder also has made clear he opposes that approach.

McCann said Senate staff is determining how many bills and which ones would need to go to conference committees. Typically, each bill requires its own conference committee.

Richardville will likely serve on the conference committee for HB 5477, she said.

And Bolger spokesperson Ari Adler said the House conferees on that bill will include Bolger and House Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills).

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