Michigan Governor Includes $195 Million for Flint in New Budget

Michigan's lawmakers are welcoming a proposal that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder made on Wednesday to send hundreds of millions more dollars to address Flint's water crisis from lead contamination and to update pipes there and across the state

Calling it a "seed investment," Snyder plans to direct $195 million more toward the Flint emergency and $165 million for statewide infrastructure needs, at least a portion of which could replace lead and copper water lines elsewhere. He said $25 million of the Flint funding would replace 5,000 known old lead lines running from city streets to houses.

The Republican governor cited aging infrastructure as a pressing priority, along with restructuring the troubled Detroit school district and addressing skyrocketing specialty medicine costs.

"These areas merit special attention," Snyder said, in a departure from his typically rosier focus on traditional budget spending. "These are issues that we need to take head-on, in a positive, constructive way, with solutions."

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