The state House approved an historic bill that will create a regional transit authority for southeast Michigan.
Kathleen Gray reports the historic bill, passed 57-50, was more than 40 years in the making and now heads to Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature. He put the bill as one of his top priorities, but it almost didn’t happen because Democrats refused to vote for the bill while the contentious right to work bill was on the agenda.
It took three tries – and only one vote from Democrats, state Rep. Lesia Liss, of Warren – to get the bill passed.
The authority would be governed by a seven-member board consisting of two members from each of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and one member from Detroit, and it would coordinate the city and suburban bus service provided by the Detroit Department of Transportation and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transit (or SMART). It also would spearhead the creation of a light rail line and bus rapid transit system.
