A special state legislative committee started looking into the Flint water crisis today.
Committee chairman Sen. Jim Stamas (R-Midland) set the tone for the four Republicans on the six member joint Senate-House panel.
“It is my sincere hope that this committee will stay focused on solutions and not finger pointing and political positioning,” Stamas told the committee as it began its session this morning.
The two Democrats on the panel stressed the need for accountability.
“I don’t want us to get confused between the difference between political finger-pointing and accountability,” Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) said in his opening statement.
The panel today started its work with a report from the state auditor who examined the state water regulations.
There’s no formal timetable for the committee. Several members expressed interest in hearing from specific witnesses, including Flint’s four former emergency managers.