LANSING, Mich. — Legislation introduced by Sen. Jonathan Lindsey to reestablish and certify the Michigan-Indiana border was given final approval by the Michigan House of Representatives earlier this week.
“The original border was last surveyed prior to Michigan even being recognized as a state,” said Lindsey, R-Coldwater. “The blurred state lines have caused a number of issues over the years, and while both states have agreed on the need for the border to be surveyed again, the project has faced some setbacks.
“My bill would extend the timeline to get this done so we can avoid being sent back to square one.”
Various legal issues, property disputes, Great Lakes preservation responsibilities and even traffic enforcement have been complicated by the unclear state lines and jurisdictions. Both states have worked on revisiting the border line between the two states, though a formal partnership was never fully agreed upon.
Legislation passed and signed into law in 2022 outlined Michigan’s responsibilities and provided funding to complete the joint effort between the two states. However, issues with securing surveying companies became an unexpected hurdle that caused further delay in completing the project.
Senate Bill 595, which passed both chambers of the Legislature with unanimous, bipartisan support, would extend the timeline to complete the survey and amend the 2022 law to allow counties, which have stated their willingness to take on the job, to individually survey the border.
“After the 2022 law was passed, the state had issues securing a survey company for the entire project,” Lindsey said. “Allowing for the surveys to be completed on the county level will eliminate that barrier and finally allow this multistate project to reach the finish line.”
The House-passed version of the bill included an amendment, so the legislation will now return to the Senate for a concurrence vote prior to heading to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.
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