“As the governor delivered his State of the State address tonight, I would have liked to hear more about how he plans to continue dealing with the water crisis taking place in Flint. To this day, my community continues to suffer as a result of lead-contaminated water, and solutions are still desperately needed. Despite introducing more than 15 bills to address water quality in our state last year, only my House Bill 5120 became law. While 2017 will inevitably present many challenges as we try to put an end to this tragic chapter, I plan to continue working to craft effective policies to ensure a crisis of this magnitude does not happen in a Michigan community again. Tonight, Gov. Snyder addressed the need to increase our standards and testing protocols, and to adjust how decisions are made to allow for more public input, and I could not agree more. Moving forward, I am happy to have Gov. Snyder as a willing partner in tackling the complex issue of water quality in our state, and I hope to have his support for legislative solutions to the issues he outlined tonight, as well as others. I look forward to working with my legislative colleagues and the governor in 2017 to provide higher water quality standards for all Michiganders, and relief for the people of Flint.”
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