Senators Richardville and Gilbert offered the following resolution:

            Senate Resolution No. 23.

            A resolution to urge the Governor's Transportation Funding Task Force to recommend immediately changing the county distribution formula by substituting annual vehicle miles traveled for route miles.

            Whereas, Michigan's highway transportation needs and resources have undergone significant changes in the more than 50 years since the state's basic funding allocation structures were established. While certain modifications have been made to the formulas in place over this span of time, the changes in transportation needs have resulted in growing inequities across the state; and

            Whereas, The Governor's Transportation Funding Task Force, created to seek solutions to the serious challenges facing our highway infrastructure amid difficult economic circumstances, must address the unequal distribution of resources, in addition to considering alternatives for increasing revenues for the roads. Every avenue to achieve greater efficiency and fairness must be examined. Among the task force's recommendations was a proposal to revamp the formula to incorporate annual vehicle miles traveled. The task force's accompanying comments that sufficient data does not exist, however, do not take into effect the fact that there is indeed ample valid and suitable information that can readily be used until more detailed information is compiled; and

            Whereas, Current practices of using route mileage within a county to distribute road funding, for example, do not account for the usage rate. A more accurate and meaningful measure and a far more reflective indicator of highway utilization would be to use annual vehicle miles traveled. The current distribution formula lacks this critical factor. The current system also fails to take into account the condition and the capacity of the roads, which results in a less efficient use of limited state resources. A transition to the more appropriate gauge of annual vehicle miles traveled is long overdue; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate, That we urge the Governor's Transportation Funding Task Force to recommend immediately changing the county distribution formula by substituting annual vehicle miles traveled for route miles; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor's Transportation Funding Task Force.