Sen. Tom Barrett on Wednesday applauded the governor for signing into law legislation he co-sponsored to utilize a portion of the state’s federal relief funds and invest $4.7 billion into making critical improvements to the state’s water, transportation, broadband and parks infrastructure.
“This legislation puts this money exactly where it can be best spent — making generational infrastructure upgrades that will benefit Michiganders for many years to come and not growing the size of the state government in unsustainable ways,” said Barrett, R-Charlotte. “This funding will help more people have access to safer drinking water, provide for safer roads and bridges for drivers, give more rural students and businesses access to reliable internet, enhance our parks, and benefit all who call Michigan home.”
Senate Bill 565 will use $4.1 billion in federal funding and $571 million in state resources to make important infrastructure investments across the state, including over $1.7 billion to help communities improve their drinking water and wastewater infrastructure — with at least 25% of drinking water funds dedicated to replacing lead pipes. It designates $50 million to help install filtered water stations in schools, $60 million to help reduce PFAS or other contaminants from drinking water, and $35 million to fix failing septic systems.
The bill also features nearly $317 million in federal funding to fix aging roads and bridges, $250 million to help improve broadband connectivity to more households and small businesses, $450 million to make infrastructure upgrades at state and local parks, and $92.8 million for airport infrastructure projects.
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