Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

By DAVID EGGERT

Associated Press

LANSING — Allies of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have launched $750,000 in TV ads to support her plan to borrow $3.5 billion to roughly double construction spending on state-owned roads and bridges over five years.

The Road to Michigan’s Future, a social welfare nonprofit, began airing the ads across the state on Friday — two days after the Democratic governor announced the bonding in her State of the State speech. The newly formed group does not have to disclose its donors’ identities.

Mark Fisk, spokesman for the organization, said it will “support Gov. Whitmer’s bold plan to fix Michigan’s crumbling and deteriorating infrastructure without increasing taxes or waiting for the Legislature to act. Our mission is to educate the public about her plan and encourage lawmakers in both parties to start tackling this urgent problem before Michigan’s dangerous, worst-in-the-nation roads get even worse.”

The campaign also includes digital ads.

A spokesman for Whitmer said her office is not affiliated with the paid advertising and referred media calls to Fisk. He said the ad buy totals “six figures.” The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a watchdog group, reported nearly $750,000 in airtime has been purchased.

The nonprofit was incorporated by Rick Wiener, a former lobbyist who worked as chief of staff to Democrat Jennifer Granholm when she was governor. Fisk previously was the spokesman for Build a Better Michigan, which was organized by Whitmer’s allies under section 527 of the U.S. tax code and spent millions to boost her successful run in 2018.

Whitmer announced the plan nearly a year after her proposed 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax increase went nowhere in the Republican-led Legislature, which instead voted to direct additional discretionary general funds to roadwork. Whitmer blocked that move last fall, saying it fell far short, was just a one-time step and would have hurt other spending.

GOP lawmakers have criticized Whitmer for choosing to borrow money.

“It doesn’t do anything to address rural or local roads in general, which are worse off than state roads,” said House Transportation Committee Chairman Jack O’Malley of Lake Ann, who held a hearing to discuss the plan. “It’s great that people’s commutes are going to be better on the highways in southeast Michigan, but they’ve got to get off the freeway at some point and use other roads to get where they’re going and they will be relying on a quality road to get them there.”

Whitmer — who cannot unilaterally issue bonds to address local roads — has said borrowing to fix high-traffic state roads will keep drivers safe, save money in the long run by avoiding more costly repairs later, immediately lead to road fixes and result in no tax increase. She has said, however, that a long-term funding fix is still needed. Her proposed gasoline tax hike would have permanently pumped $1.4 billion a year more into state roads and an additional $400 million into local roads than under current law.

Michigan’s annual debt service on past State Trunkline Fund bonds is $118 million this fiscal year and was scheduled to drop gradually and substantially in coming years, to more than $6 million by the 2027-28 budget year. Whitmer’s administration estimates the $3.5 billion in bonding will cost the state $207 million annually over 25 years.