LANSING, Mich. – A flood relief bill sponsored by Rep. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, passed the state House of Representatives late Wednesday by a near-unanimous, overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 107-to-1.

Glenn, who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military & Veterans Affairs and State Police, announced during a news conference less than a week ago in Sanford that she had introduced House Bill 5843 – legislation to allocate $6 million to Midland County and the city of Midland to deal with the devastating flood damage.

If approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Whitmer, funding would come from the Michigan State Police Disaster and Emergency Contingency Fund, Glenn said, helping with tree removal, sheltering, evacuations, chemical containment efforts, emergency protective measures, and repairing real estate and personal property.

“I’m grateful to lawmakers of both parties for their support of this emergency legislation. In the days and weeks following the flooding, I’ve been working in Sanford and Midland, cleaning out houses, tearing out drywall, insulation and carpet,” Glenn said. “I’ve talked with hundreds of flood victims and heard their stories. My heart goes out to the thousands of families affected by these unimaginably devastating challenges.”

Glenn said after the flood and talking to many residents, it was clear the community would need financial help moving forward. She said she “immediately began looking for ways to make that happen and brainstorming ways the state could step up.”

“As this measure makes its way through the next step in the legislative process, I look forward to working with Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee,” Glenn said. “We’ve already had colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Lansing ask us how they can help, and I’m so proud to represent the people of this community and to witness the ways they’ve stepped up to help each other.”

Rep. Glenn was joined during last week’s news conference by Congressman John Moolenaar, Rep. Roger Hauck, Sanford Village President Delores Porte, Midland County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mark Bone, City of Midland Mayor Maureen Donker, and other elected officials.

“I want to compliment Rep. Glenn on her work as state representative,” Moolenaar said. “She’s been on the ground helping in so many ways – volunteering, helping pick up debris, all sorts of things. This is just one more example of the way she has stepped up to help in our community.”

While $6 million won’t be enough to resolve the problem completely, Moolenaar and Glenn agreed that it’s a great place to start.

“Every one of these people deserves an individual ‘thank you’ for the things they’ve done to help during this crisis,” Glenn said of community leaders attending the news conference. “We are Midland strong, we are Sanford strong, and together we will rebuild our community.”

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