Rep. Alicia St. Germaine gave testimony today on a bill that would officially bestow the title of “Boat Town USA” onto Harrison Township.

“Harrison has 32 miles of coastline, 70-plus marinas, over 15 thousand boat slips and over 7 thousand waterfront homes. This is what they eat sleep and breathe. They’ve earned the title, heck they’ve already claimed it. They deserve to be the first official Boat Town in the world. Let’s make it a reality.”

But the decision is also economic, according to St. Germaine.

“Boating in Michigan is a big deal,” said St. Germaine. “But it’s not just a cultural fascination. Our economy in these towns depends on getting boats on the water. The economic power of recreational boating alone totals over $7.8 billion dollars from over 1500 business that create over 58,000 jobs. They’ve worked for this title. I think they deserve it.”

HB 4221 has been accepted to the House Committee on Government Operations where it faces further debate.

Rep. St. Germaine and her office can be reached at +1 (517) 373-0555 or [email protected].