(LANSING) - A bill to re-establish and certify the Michigan-Indiana border is one step closer to becoming law.
Legislation introduced by Michigan State Senator Jonathan Lindsey was given final approval in the Michigan House of Representatives earlier this week.
Lindsey, a Republican from Coldwater, says the original border was last surveyed prior to Michigan even being recognized as a state. He says the blurred state lines have caused a number of issues over the years, and while both states have agreed on the need for the border to be surveyed again, the project has faced some setbacks.
Various legal issues, property disputes, Great Lakes preservation responsibilities and even traffic enforcement have been complicated by the unclear state lines and jurisdictions. Both states have worked on revisiting the border line between the two states, though a formal partnership was never fully agreed upon.
Legislation passed and signed into law in 2022 outlined Michigan's responsibilities and provided funding to complete the joint effort between the two states. However, issues with securing surveying companies became an unexpected hurdle that caused further delay in completing the project.
Senate Bill 595, which passed both chambers of the Legislature with unanimous, bipartisan support, would extend the timeline to complete the survey and amend the 2022 law to allow counties, which have stated their willingness to take on the job, to individually survey the border.
The House-passed version of the bill included an amendment, so the legislation will now return to the Senate for a concurrence vote prior to heading to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.