LANSING, Mich. (AP) – The Michigan Senate has acted quickly to finalize legislation authorizing $30 million in supplemental aid to help pay Flint residents’ water bills amid the city’s crisis with lead-tainted water.
Lawmakers approved the legislation unanimously Tuesday after the House passed the bill last week with minor revisions. It now goes to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature.
Senators voted to send the final version of the legislation to Snyder a day after a University of Michigan Flint professor said the city has more than 8,000 old lead pipes running from water mains to homes and businesses.
State regulators failed to require Flint to treat river water with anti-corrosion chemicals when its water source was switched in 2014, allowing lead to be scraped from aging pipes and into drinking water.