New fee on horsepower would support road repairs

By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING – Whoa! Should counties be able to tax horse-drawn vehicles to raise money for road repairs? That’s the idea from Rep. Joel Johnson, R-Clare, who wants to give counties the option of collecting an annual registration fee of up to $50 per vehicle if local voters approve. County road funding now comes from the state fuel tax and motor vehicle registration fees. Rev. William Lindholm, who chairs the National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom, said his Livonia-based organization just heard of the proposal and hasn’t looked into it yet.