As expected, Governor Snyder devoted much of his 2016 State of the State speech this evening to the water crisis in Flint.  Within the speech, he did also focus on the Detroit Public Schools reform efforts he is pushing and broadened the conversation about lead pipe contamination within the city of Flint to reference the need for the state to evaluate and address aging infrastructure within any city around the state.  He announced a commission on 21st century infrastructure that will be charged with evaluating Michigan’s infrastructure needs, risk areas, and costs.  More background on the Governor’s speech can be found here – http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-74857_74858-373938–,00.html.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304and [email protected].