LANSING – The final bills in a legislative package to allow motorists to pay a $10 fee when they renew their annual vehicle registration to receive a permit to use any state park or boating access site are on their way to Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
The Passport Bill, SB 389, passed last Thursday in the Michigan Senate 26-9. With the action, the legislation completes a long, twisted road that saw it stall at the end of 2009 because of objections from House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.). Dillon had objected the measure as a revenue source for the state’s park system at a time when so many key state services need money.
And road interests also objected to the bills, saying they would wrongly allow funding for something other than roads to be a part of the vehicle registration process.
Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) and Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City), whose districts have a number of state parks in need of repairs, couldn’t contain their enthusiasm. As they walked past reporters into a Republican caucus on another issue, Birkholz pumped her fists and Mr. Allen let out a “hooray!”
“It’s been a long, long journey,” Birkholz said.
In a nod to the work she did on legislation regulating groundwater withdrawals, Birkholz said, “Not quite as bad as water withdrawal and the compact, but almost.”
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