This week the Senate unanimously passed an amended version of a House bill providing $28 million in state funding for the Flint water crisis.  Prior to final passage by the Senate, several amendments were adopted to the bill in both the Senate Appropriations Committee and on the Senate floor.  The most notable change to the House-passed version of the bill shifts some of the funds allocated for purchasing bottled water and water filters to other programs.  Recently there has been an outpouring of private donations for these items, as such the state no longer needs to allocate the same amount of resources to this area.  Those dollars will be redirected to other programs, including additional funding for school nurses and funding for nutritional support in Genesee County.  Additionally, the state will pay for an Early On assessment for all children ages zero to three and will provide health assessment for children exposed to high lead levels.  The health assessment will provide data to the legislature on the full impact of lead exposure to the community and what additional assistance the state may need to provide.  Before the final floor vote was taken, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) had his amendment approved that requires the Office of Auditor General to provide a report to the legislature every six months on the use of this state funding, until all the dollars have been expended.  Of the $28 million supplemental appropriation, $22.6 million will come from the State’s General Fund, the remaining $5.4 million comes from a combination of federal and restricted funds.  On Thursday afternoon, the House unanimously voted to concur in the Senate changes to the bill. 

Today, Governor Rick Snyder signed the legislation into law.  In a statement, the Governor said “I thank the Legislature for their quick action to make this additional $28 million a reality.  It is a necessary next-stop in ongoing recovery efforts for the city.  We know that more money will be needed to address long-term concerns and I want to reassure the families of Flint that I remain dedicated to fixing this problem.”

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