A package of bills to expand state aid for heating bills for low income households has nearly made it over the finish line in Lansing.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has already signed several of the bills, one of which lifts the income limit for a household of four to qualify for state aid. The limit goes from $46,800 to $61,861, which is approximately 60% of the state median income.
Lauren Marks is with United Way for Southeastern Michigan, one of the agencies that distributes Michigan Energy Assistance Program aid on behalf of the state. She said more than 330,000 more households statewide could get help with heating bills.
"Utility assistance remains in the top three needs across the entire state for people calling and asking for assistance," Marks said. "Just in the five counties that we serve, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, and Lapeer, we get over 660 calls a day" for help with heating bills.
Marks said the Senate still has to pass a tie-barred bill that authorizes the extra money for the expansion, and send it to the Governor. But she said the bill has bipartisan support and she expects swift action on it in the final days of the lame duck session.
