State Rep. Parker Fairbairn on Wednesday secured House passage of his plan to send $100 million in state relief to Northern Michigan after a devastating ice storm earlier this year. If approved by the Senate and signed into law, the plan could open the door for additional federal dollars for communities most severely impacted by the storms.

“This was a once-in-a-generation weather event,” Fairbairn said during a floor speech Wednesday. “Ice coated trees, powerlines, radio and cell towers, roads, rooftops, cars and homes. The thickness and weight snapped limbs, power poles, 600-foot broadcast antenna, electrical masts, and structural supports across Northern Michigan.”

House Bill 4328 would support disaster relief grants, which will reimburse local communities for emergency management assistance, continued operation of warming centers and purchase of emergency supplies, cleanup, and recovery efforts, energy assistance, and repair or replacement of damaged public infrastructure.

“Our Northern Michigan communities are doing everything they can to clear hurricane-type debris,” said Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs. “But, after weeks of recovery, personal and municipal finances are stretched far too thin. This plan would provide a hand-up to those Michiganders who find themselves in desperate situations after this storm.

Any unexpended relief funds must be used to address damage on land owned by the state or to reimburse third-party providers that assisted in recovery efforts.

Fairbairn’s plan now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

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