LANSING – State Representative Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City) today voted for a plan that will use $194 million of federal stimulus dollars for use in energy programs in communities throughout the state. The plan, which uses no state dollars, now heads to the Senate for approval.
"This investment in our infrastructure will put people back on the job," said Mayes, Chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee. "Older buildings tend to leak energy like a sieve, costing homeowners and businesses money and wasting energy. By retrofitting these buildings in order to save energy, we can get Michigan back to work."
The Michigan House today passed a plan that authorizes $194 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to be spent in the current fiscal year. Of this, $26.7 million will go toward Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants to help communities across the state implement energy conservation strategies; and $82.1 million for Michigan's energy program, which includes $56 million for state building upgrades and $23.2 million for energy efficiency programs in the private sector.
The plan also provides $70 million for the use of modernizing the Unemployment Insurance Agency, as well as $457,100 for improvements to the Grand Rapids Veterans' Home. This is in order to meet federally imposed guidelines that would redistribute the funding to other states if not approved by mid-June.
"With the budget crisis our state is facing, we need to make sure that we get these stimulus funds into our local communities as quickly as possible," Mayes said. "With this plan, we'll get our residents back to work rebuilding Michigan."