"The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about."

-Lent Upson, first director of Citizens Research Council

Please add eric.lupher@crcmich-newsletter.com to your safe sender/contact list

March 31, 2025

This post provides a summary of Citizens Research Council of Michigan’s recent report, A Data-Driven Assessment of Michigan’s Road Program. The report offers a fact-based analysis to inform ongoing public policy discussions. One key conclusion: overall funding levels are just one factor affecting road quality—smarter spending and systemic reforms may be just as critical as additional revenue to maintain and improve infrastructure conditions statewide.

Despite conventional wisdom, data does not support the idea that Michigan has ‘historically underfunded’ its roads. Michigan has long struggled with deteriorating road conditions—but underfunding is only part of the problem.

Michigan’s road funding ranks in the middle of the pack and has reached a 20-year high. However, the state ranks near the bottom in road conditions. Without addressing inefficiencies in how money is distributed and spent, simply increasing funding may not solve the problem.

Before asking taxpayers for more revenue or reallocating state dollars, Michigan policymakers should evaluate how to make the most of the funding already available.

IN A NUTSHELL

 -- Michigan ranks 30th among all 50 states in road funding levels by an assessment of data from 2012 to 2021 and 40th in road system conditions using the latest available data.

 -- The performance of Michigan’s road program—the effectiveness in using available funding to maintain public roads—has declined between 2004 and 2024.

 -- Improving road conditions in Michigan will require more than just increasing funding. Policy solutions should focus on how money is spent. This includes revisiting the state’s pavement management strategies and replacing Michigan’s outdated road funding law, Public Act 51 of 1951.

Media coverage of the report:

Report: Michigan is trailing other states on road upkeep and needs new funding method, Michigan Advance (March 26)
New study calls for overhaul of Michigan’s road funding and allocation legislation, WKAR Public Radio (March 26)
Report ranks Michigan 30th in road funding and 40th in road conditions, ABC12 (March 26)

New Report Says Road Funding Needs Overhaul, WJR Detroit (March 26)

Eric Lupher talks with Chris Renwick about road report (begins 1 hr, 15 min), WJR Detroit (March 26)

Assessing Michigan’s Roads, WJR Detroit (March 26)

New Citizens Research Council Report Argues for Reform of Michigan’s Road Funding Program as Part of Increased Investment, Michigan Business Network (March 26)

Eric Paul Dennis - The WILS Morning Wake-Up, WILS 1320 (March 26)

New analysis recommends changes to Michigan’s road funding formula, WSJM - Moody on the Market (March 25)

CRC: Legislature Should Scrap, Replace Act 51 Road Funding Law, Gongwer (March 25)

As Michigan’s road costs rise, experts say current funding method ‘isn’t working’, Bridge Michigan (March 25)

Michigan’s roads ranked 40th in U.S. in new report, MLive.com (March 25)

Replace Michigan's 'obsolete' road funding rules to avoid 'more of the same,' group says, Detroit News (March 25)

Report: Reform of Michigan’s Road Funding Program Needed as Part of Increased Investment, DBusiness (March 25)

Michigan should rip up road-funding formula, start with blank slate, report says, Crain’s Business (March 25)

On April 9, from 12-1 pm, Infrastructure Research Council analyst Eric Paul Dennis will present findings from his recent report, A Data-Driven Assessment of Michigan’s Road Program. His presentation will highlight the following points:

• Michigan ranks 30th among all 50 states in road funding and 40th in road system conditions.
• Michigan’s road program performance declined between 2004 and 2024.
• Policy discussions should include an evaluation of options to improve Michigan’s road performance. At the top of that list: repealing and replacing Public Act 51 of 1951, Michigan’s main road funding law.

IN A NUTSHELL

 -- Some parts of Michigan – particularly the state’s rural areas – have a shortage of primary care providers.

 -- Foreign-trained doctors are required to repeat post-graduate training in the United States to obtain a medical license in Michigan, but many states have removed or are considering removing this requirement. 

 -- Research is not available to assess how well foreign-trained doctors perform without this requirement, but the state has the ability to enact safeguards to limit the risk if it chooses to pursue this approach to reducing the physician shortage. 

Catch Up On Other Recent Papers:

• Michigan Needs a State-Level, Expert Commission to Reform its Local Government Funding Model
• Policymakers at All Levels Can Work Toward Better Indoor Air Quality
• Bringing Oversight and Transparency to Legislative Earmarking
• Consequences of State-Directed K-12 Funding: Loss of Local Decision-Making
• Getting the "Dys" out of Michigan's Dysfunctional Legislature

Tomorrow, April 1, please join us for a webinar being held exclusively for ELC members with Research Council Infrastructure Analyst Eric Paul Dennis will discuss a comprehensive, data-heavy study and a novel approach to the road funding discussion in Michigan.  His research will demonstrate methodologies used for state road funding, road funding levels nationwide, funding among peer states and how Michigan stacks up. It also looks at, through data driven metrics, whether more money means better roads.

Once you become an ELC member, a registration code will be sent to you.

Become a member today: https://crcmich.org/elc.

ELC members receive access to public policy leaders and can participate in critical conversations facing our local and state governments, as well as other networking opportunities. Members can also join us at our annual fall policy dinner at a 50 percent discount ticket rate.

Research Director Craig Thiel last week testified before the House K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee on two recent papers where he addressed issues of K-12 funding and equity for disadvantaged students and the schools they attend. The first paper, Congress has failed to address the inequities of Title I. Michigan Lawmakers Should Step In, revealed substantial variation in the amount of per-student dollars that similarly-situated districts receive.

• Michigan policymakers have no control over how the federal Title I program operates and splits funds among the state’s 840 individual local school districts, but they do control other funding streams that can be used to address the inequities inherent in Title I.
• Michigan lawmakers should address what Congress has gotten wrong over the past six decades and prioritize state budget resources to partially equalize the per-student allocations dictated by the federal formula

He also testified on his most recent report (see above) on how changes in the federal government's pandemic-era Medicaid eligibility rules will create an "at-risk" funding cliff for schools next year. Read the summary above and find the paper here: Major Drop in Economically Disadvantaged Student Counts Will Create "At-Risk" Funding Cliff for Schools Next Year.

Catch Up on Recent Podcasts:

• Michigan has an underperforming road system. State lawmakers need to address it.
• If lawmakers are serious about reforming budget earmarks, they should put it in law
• Gov. Whitmer's new budget plan: funding bumps for students, new sin taxes and more

(See above for the week's coverage of the 2025 Michigan Road Program Report)

Detroit mayoral hopefuls embrace tax breaks for revival despite some objection, Detroit News (March 26)

Port Austin Michigan Zoning Crackdown Sparks Public Outcry Over Tent, Camper Ban, Newsbreak (March 26)

Michigan districts brace for cuts, as number of needy students falls, Bridge Michigan (March 20)

Tax relief, road projects competing for dollars in Lansing, Detroit News (March 12)

Michigan road funding efforts have stalled before. Can new plans break the traffic jam?, Detroit Free Press (March 12)

MI House Republicans shock Democrats with introduction - and quick passage - of budget bills in Lansing, WCMU Public Media (March 7)

Tax, cut or both? Gretchen Whitmer needs House GOP help to fix Michigan roads, Bridge Michigan (March 6)

A year later, Whitmer silent on MSU board’s request to remove 2 trustees for misconduct, Lansing State Journal (March 6)

Hall Not Sold on Final Book Closing, MIRS News (March 5)