Lawmakers rally behind updated water affordability package

Some Michigan lawmakers are trying to get a bill package aimed at water affordability passed before the end of the year.

The legislation would create a new fund to help low-income residents avoid water shutoffs.

State Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) said the bills are a response to concerns residents share with lawmakers.

“It’s a crazy thing to think about in Michigan. Imagine that you have people right now in this winter who don’t have water to cook, clean, bathe, and just to keep their hands clean, to stay healthy,” Aiyash said during a press call Monday.

Money for the new Low-Income Water Residential Affordability Fund would come from a $2 monthly charge on retail water bills. There are provisions in the bills to potentially up that by an increment of 10% annually, to a maximum of $3 per month.

Monday, supporters of the package promoted some proposed changes they said would ensure the program would serve everyone across the state. Those changes include limiting how much water participating households could use, creating a task force to help with implementation, and ensuring the fee collected to pay for the fund would be spent regionally.

State Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) said that’s important because residents in his northern Michigan district often fear money for these programs would be mainly spent in other parts of the state.

“Some people might be hesitant about the $2 monthly fee, but let me be clear. This small investment will generate $65 million annually. Funds that will directly benefit families and communities across our state. And the utilities that provide them with clean water. And as we’ve seen, the cost of our inaction is far greater,” Damoose said.

The bills were last heard in committee in October of last year. At the time, some real estate and small business groups opposed parts of the package that would allow renters to put water bills in their own name instead of the property owner’s.

The Apartment Association of Michigan opposed that element, arguing it could cause trouble for landlords.

“Unpaid water bills become a lien on the rental property. If a resident does not pay their bill, it is the rental property owner who will suffer this consequence. Given this, the rental property owner should have the control of water bill payment for the property,” the organization wrote in a letter to the Senate Housing and Human Service Committee.

There are only a few session days left to get the bills to the governor’s desk. Once the state Legislature adjourns for the year later this month, all bills that haven’t made it out will die and need to be reintroduced next year.

Package co-sponsor Senator Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) said everyone understands the urgency.

“We recognize how important it is that we get this bipartisan, common-sense solution passed for the good of all Michiganders, but also because we recognize that we if we don’t pass this in a few years, we will very much be in a crisis,” she said.

The bills are not on the agenda for a second hearing during tomorrow’s meeting of the Senate Housing and Human Services Committee, where they haven’t yet been voted on.