Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is now expected to wait until the Legislature approves a fiscal 2012 budget before introducing a draft measure to advance a controversial plan to build a publicly funded bridge over the busy trade route spanning the Detroit River.
Snyder earlier this year said one of his top priorities was moving ahead with a $4 billion, partially bond-financed bridge between Michigan and Canada.
A few weeks ago he floated a draft bill to advance the plan, but has since decided to wait until after lawmakers complete the new budget, according to local reports.
Lawmakers have spent years debating the bridge proposal. Critics note that the owner of the only existing bridge, the private Ambassador Bridge, is in the middle of building a new replacement span less than a mile away. Supporters of the government plan say future trade traffic will require another bridge.
Snyder’s plan would create a new bond-issuing authority that could enter into a public-private partnership for up to 50 years to build and oversee what Snyder has dubbed the New International Trade Crossing project. The authority would be allowed to issue 50-year tax-exempt bonds for the project.
The bill limits risk for Michigan taxpayers by requiring debt to be backed solely by project revenue and bars the issuance of any debt that carries the general obligation or moral pledge of Michigan or a political subdivision within the state.
The project’s cost is estimated at $3.8 billion and financing it would require a partnership between Michigan, Windsor in Canada, and the Canadian and U.S. governments.
In related news, the Michigan chapter of Americans for Prosperity held a news conference Monday where they said Snyder’s bill would violate the open-records law and the governor’s vow to run a transparent government.
