Road Spending to Increase

The proposal in Lansing to immediately spend 100 million dollars extra for winter road maintenance for local governments has been increased, at the expense of some Medicaid-related dollars. The Republican controlled House Appropriations Committee has changed language in the bill, and has increased the spending to 215 million dollars. In addition, the move eliminates spending designed to cover the shortfall from the Health Insurance Claims Assessment, over objections from minority Democrats. The HICA is used to help support Medicaid in Michigan.