HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2024.02.07 - 40972
AGENDA ITEM: Supporting Senate Bills 0549-0551 and House Bills 5088-5090 to Create a Low-
Income Water Residential Affordability Program and the Water Shutoff Protection Act
DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners
MEETING: Board of Commissioners
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 6:00 PM - Click to View Agenda
ITEM SUMMARY SHEET
COMMITTEE REPORT TO BOARD
Resolution #2024-3737 _ 24-6
Motion to adopt the attached suggested resolution.
ITEM CATEGORY SPONSORED BY
Resolution Charles Cavell
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
This is a 6-bill package. Links to each bill are below:
• Senate Bill 0549
• Senate Bill 0550
• Senate Bill 0551
• House Bill 5088
• House Bill 5089
• House Bill 5090
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: No
Committee members can contact Michael Andrews, Policy and Fiscal Analysis Supervisor at
248.425.5572 or andrewsmb@oakgov.com, or the department contact persons listed for additional
information.
CONTACT
Charles Cavell, Commissioner
ITEM REVIEW TRACKING
Aaron Snover, Board of Commissioners Created/Initiated - 2/7/2024
David Woodward, Board of Commissioners Approved - 2/7/2024
Lisa Brown, Clerk/Register of Deeds Final Approval - 2/8/2024
AGENDA DEADLINE: 02/07/2024 6:00 PM
ATTACHMENTS
None
COMMITTEE TRACKING
2024-01-18 Full Board - Refer to Legislative Affairs & Government Operations
2024-01-30 Legislative Affairs & Government Operations - Recommend to Board
2024-02-07 Full Board - Adopt
Motioned by: Commissioner Brendan Johnson
Seconded by: Commissioner Charles Cavell
Yes: David Woodward, Penny Luebs, Kristen Nelson, Gwen Markham, Angela Powell, Marcia
Gershenson, William Miller III, Yolanda Smith Charles, Charles Cavell, Brendan Johnson, Ajay
Raman, Ann Erickson Gault, Linnie Taylor (13)
No: Michael Spisz, Michael Gingell, Karen Joliat, Christine Long, Robert Hoffman, Philip Weipert
(6)
Abstain: None (0)
Absent: (0)
Passed
February 7, 2024
RESOLUTION #2024-3737 _ 24-6
Sponsored By: Charles Cavell
Board of Commissioners - Supporting Senate Bills 0549-0551 and House Bills 5088-5090 to
Create a Low-Income Water Residential Affordability Program and the Water Shutoff
Protection Act
Chair and Members of the Board:
WHEREAS in October 2023, a package of Water Affordability bills was introduced in the Michigan
Senate and House of Representatives which, if enacted, would establish a first-in-the-nation
statewide program to provide eligible low-income households with water bill payments considered
affordable based on national standards, along with a sustainable funding source to support the
program and provide protections from water service shutoffs; and
WHEREAS Senate Bill 0549 and House Bill 5088 would create a low-income water residential
affordability program under which qualifying individuals would not pay more than an average of 3% of
their household income for water services and, if eligible, receive arrearage forgiveness for past-due
water bills and household plumbing repairs to prevent water loss; and
WHEREAS Senate Bill 0550 and House Bill 5089 would create the low-income water affordability
fund within the Michigan Department of Treasury using a $2 per month, per retail water metered
account funding factor which would be used as a dedicated funding source to support the low-income
residential water affordability program; and
WHEREAS the bills would, among other things, ensure that water utility providers would recover the
full cost of providing services to eligible and enrolled customers; and
WHEREAS Senate Bill 0551 and House Bill 5090 would create the “Water Shutoff Protection Act”
which would require water utility providers to give various forms of notice to residential customers
prior to the disconnection of water service due to non-payment and to prevent water service
termination for individuals meeting critical care customer requirements where life would be at
imminent risk without household water services; and
WHEREAS in 2021, with funding from a grant by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great
Lakes, and Energy, the office of the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner, which
operates and maintains water and sewer systems for 22 municipalities in Oakland County, conducted
a nearly two-year study to create a plan to improve water affordability in Oakland County and beyond
without compromising water quality or safety which included, among other things, recommendations
for a statewide affordability program aligned with the proposed Water Affordability legislation; and
WHEREAS the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner and members of his staff were
selected by Senator Stephanie Chang to participate in a stakeholder workgroup that developed the
Water Affordability bills and to provide testimony before Michigan Senate and House committees
regarding the impact of the bills on the fiscal stability of water utilities and the need for affordable
water services to protect public health and safety; and
WHEREAS current programs that provide financial assistance to households for water bills, like the
Water Residential Assistance Program offered by the Great Lakes Water Authority, have limited
funding and are intended to provide short-term and temporary aid to low-income households; and
WHEREAS the average inflation-adjusted water costs have roughly doubled (increased by 188%) for
the state as a whole since 1980 and the cost of water service, on average, has increased at a faster
rate than all other essential goods and services, except health care; and
WHEREAS customers who cannot afford to pay their water bills are at risk of their water service
being shut off, having property tax liens on their homes that can result in foreclosure, and other
potentially devastating consequences leading to housing insecurity and harm to personal health,
dignity, and family relationships; and
WHEREAS the inability of customers to afford water services also impacts water utility providers
through uncollected or delayed revenue, increased operational costs, and deferred infrastructure
maintenance or replacement; and
WHEREAS the Oakland County Board of Commissioners recognizes that access to affordable water
services is necessary to protect public health and is essential for the fiscal stability of water service
providers, and critical to the resilience and prosperity of Oakland County and all Michigan residents.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners supports
Senate Bills 0549-0551 and House Bills 5088-5090 to create a low-income water residential
affordability program and the "Water Shutoff Protection Act" and urges the Michigan Legislature to
adopt these bills.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds is requested to
forward copies of this adopted resolution to the Oakland County Executive, the Governor of the State
of Michigan, the State Senate Majority and Minority leaders, the State House Speaker and Minority
leader, the members of the Oakland County delegation to the Michigan Legislature, and the Board of
Commissioners' legislative lobbyist.
Chair, the following Commissioners are sponsoring the foregoing Resolution: Charles Cavell.
Date: February 07, 2024
David Woodward, Commissioner
Date: February 08, 2024
Lisa Brown, County Clerk / Register of Deeds
COMMITTEE TRACKING
2024-01-18 Full Board - Refer to Legislative Affairs & Government Operations
2024-01-30 Legislative Affairs & Government Operations - Recommend to Board
2024-02-07 Full Board - Adopt
Motioned by Commissioner Brendan Johnson seconded by Commissioner Charles Cavell to adopt
the attached Resolution: Supporting Senate Bills 0549-0551 and House Bills 5088-5090 to Create a
Low-Income Water Residential Affordability Program and the Water Shutoff Protection Act.
Yes: David Woodward, Penny Luebs, Kristen Nelson, Gwen Markham, Angela Powell, Marcia
Gershenson, William Miller III, Yolanda Smith Charles, Charles Cavell, Brendan Johnson, Ajay
Raman, Ann Erickson Gault, Linnie Taylor (13)
No: Michael Spisz, Michael Gingell, Karen Joliat, Christine Long, Robert Hoffman, Philip Weipert
(6)
Abstain: None (0)
Absent: (0)
Passed
ATTACHMENTS
None
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true
and accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on
February 7, 2024, with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Circuit Court at
Pontiac, Michigan on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
Lisa Brown, Oakland County Clerk / Register of Deeds