LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she won't sign a "status-quo" budget, stepping up her criticism of Republican legislative leaders for "not offering a viable alternative to her proposed 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax hike to fix the roads.
The Democratic governor held a news conference Wednesday, about a month before the state budget deadline.
She says GOP lawmakers are "screwing around" and have not offered a legitimate plan nearly six months after she made her proposal. She criticized their call to shift money for schools to the transportation budget.
She also officially ruled out taking longer to address unfunded liabilities in the Public School Employees' Retirement System to free up revenue for roads.
Whitmer says she refuses to "kick the can down the road."
Republicans say drivers oppose a 45-cent gas tax increase.
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