Flush with Cash, State Lawmakers Consider Water Risks

Water is poised for prominence this year in state law and policy.
 

Forty-nine states reported higher than expected revenue last year, according to NASBO data. General fund revenue in 2022 grew more than 14 percent overall. Wisconsin’s governor said the state will celebrate its 175th birthday in its best financial position ever. So it is with bulging pockets that state lawmakers return to their capitals for new legislative sessions.

They also return, in many cases, with a sense of urgency about water.

The droughts, floods, water supply disruptions, and contamination worries of recent years have rattled prior complacency.

Right to Water: Could 2023 Be the Year Michigan Ends Shutoffs?
 

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

Nearly a decade since United Nations officials called Detroit water shutoffs a human rights violation, Democratic leaders say this could be the year Michigan enshrines a human right to water into Michigan law.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-Beverly Hills, with a host of cosponsors, would declare water a human right and require state agencies to “employ all reasonable means” to execute on that vision.

It’s the first water bill in a legislative session that’s likely to be packed with them, as Democrats vow to direct their policymaking and spending power toward Michigan’s water affordability and access problems.

Federal Government Advances Big Water Projects

Congress focuses on flood protection and disaster recovery.
 

Before ending its session and swearing in new members, Congress passed a fiscal year 2023 budget with key provisions for water infrastructure and disaster recovery. That’s in addition to approving legislation that authorizes Army Corps of Engineers projects for flood protection, navigation, and environmental restoration.

Combined, the two bills run to more than 8,000 pages. Water sector advocates, though confounded by how some infrastructure funds are being allocated, were generally pleased with what the bills contain.

“Anybody who cares about water should be excited about what we accomplished at the end of last year,” Mae Stevens told Circle of Blue. Stevens, who works with environmental groups and utilities, is chair of the water practice at Banner Public Affairs, a lobby group.

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