LANSING – State Representative Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard) and his House colleagues on Wednesday passed a bi-partisan plan that preserves funding for local 911 centers, ensuring that first responders throughout Michigan can act quickly to help residents in life-threatening situations and protect rural communities.
"Especially in rural areas such as ours, 911 can mean the difference between life and death," McDowell said. "In order to protect our communities, we must adequately fund our first responders. This plan ensures that residents in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan will receive the emergency services they need to keep them safe."
The plan passed by the House Wednesday protects the state funding that helps establish, maintain and operate 911 systems throughout Michigan. Under the plan, users of any 911-enabled device – landlines, cell phones and Internet phones – will pay the same user charge of just nineteen cents a month. The money will help ensure that counties can operate their life-saving 911 systems.
The plan requires that counties use all of the funding solely for the purpose of implementing, maintaining and operating their 911 centers. Additional fees to pay for other state services had been proposed as part of the legislation, but they were eliminated before the House approved the 911 funding.
"Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our loved ones, and this plan will protect funding for the 911 systems that protect us all," McDowell said. "In passing this legislation, we are ensuring that our 911 centers continue to provide quality service to our residents in their most vulnerable hours."