Insider: Whitmer Helped Win Support For Roads Plan, Cannabis Tax

LANSING – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer participated in a series of behind-closed-door meetings with Democratic lawmakers last week to help secure votes she needed to get a new budget and a road funding plan through the House and Senate.

On Thursday night, Democrats who have a majority of the seats in the Senate were struggling to find the required 19 votes to pass a 24% new tax on wholesale marijuana — a piece of new revenue that was central to the plan to direct $1.5-billion more to roads and bridges.

The marijuana tax is expected to create about $420 million in revenue, and House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, said state government would shut down without the tax as part of the overall budget deal for the year.

Multiple Senate Democrats — Democrats control 19 of the 37 votes in the Senate — were either opposing the marijuana tax hike or refusing to commit to support it last Thursday.

Sens. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, and Rosemary Bayer, D-West Bloomfield, were among the Democratic lawmakers who met privately with Whitmer in her office Thursday night at about 6 p.m. before the marijuana vote Friday morning at about 3 a.m.

Chang was among the final holdouts in the Senate. She labeled herself “undecided” after leaving the Democratic governor’s office at 5:51 p.m.

She ultimately voted for the marijuana tax increase. On Friday, she said she has many concerns about the bill and the impact it will have on the industry and the illicit market.

“In the end, I believe if the bill had failed, the result would have been a government shutdown and most likely a budget with more harmful cuts and less critical services and benefits for Michiganders,” Chang said. “I am frustrated by the process that led us up to yesterday and wish the outcome could have been different.

“However, my responsibility is to do as much good for our communities as possible, and a shutdown and resulting chaos would have been irresponsible.”

Bayer met with Whitmer after Chang and also ended up supporting the tax increase. Bayer told reporters the governor had “worked really hard on this.”

“I thought she was out of town,” Bayer said, referring to Whitmer being in Canada for a speech on Wednesday, the first day of the new fiscal year.