LANSING, Mich., April 20, 2023 — The Michigan House passed Senate Bill 63 today, which would allow the revenue raised under sinking fund millages to be used to support the purchase and maintenance of student transportation vehicles. Under current law, the revenue raised under a sinking fund millage may be used only to purchase land for school buildings, repair buildings, improve school security or upgrade technology.
“This bill has been introduced repeatedly — I’m glad that it finally received a vote on the House floor,” said state Rep. Jenn Hill (D-Marquette). “We know that some communities in the U.P. are faced with challenges in meeting their transportation needs. In many cases, they have sufficient funding, but they’ve been restricted from using it to address this problem. This bill will give our schools the ability to leverage their resources strategically for transportation purposes.”
State Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) sponsored this bipartisan bill, which passed the Senate on a 28-10 vote. Similar bills had been introduced in previous sessions, although none were given a hearing in committee.