The state House budget committee Wednesday approved an amendment that would forbid spending any public money on a second international bridge in Detroit. The bridge project has been a source of friction between Governor Rick Snyder and G.O.P. state lawmakers.
“We were elected as legislators to decide how your money is spent,” says Republican state Representative Dave Agema, who proposed the amendment. “Nobody has the right to spend that money until we authorize the expenditure. So it that money is in that fund and that money is spent without our authorization, you have basically circumvented the Legislature and the state constitution.”
The governor says no taxpayer funds will be committed in the proposal once he rolls it out. The governor will not publicly disclose details, or even whether an announcement is imminent. At the same time, he says he anticipates efforts to try to stop the project.
“I’m fairly confident I’ll get sued and sued and sued, but we will prevail, prevail, and prevail,” Snyder says.
The governor is expected to do that Friday at news conferences in Detroit and Windsor. It will reportedly call for a public-private economic development group to take the lead for the Michigan side of the project.
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