Legislation to create a regional transit authority for southeast Michigan won approval from the state Senate Tuesday.
It passed the Senate by ten votes. A number of opponents have voiced concerns about how the authority would be governed, and the amount of power it would have.
Republican state Senator Tom Casperson sponsored the legislation.
“They were valid concerns. But I think there needs to be a regional transit authority set up, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen down in Detroit. And I think there was plenty of support for it. You saw it today, and hopefully we see the same thing over in the House,” Casperson said.
Casperson is from the Upper Peninsula, but says improving transit in southeast Michigan is essential to the state’s economic recovery.
Democratic state Senator Coleman Young II was the only member from Detroit to vote against the measure. He said he supports creating a regional transit authority, but not one with the power to take away property.
“I think that when you have appointees making decisions about whether or not grandma’s going to keep her house or not, I think that’s wrong,” said Young.
The legislation now goes to the state House.
