LANSING – Legislation creating a border development and protection authority within the Michigan Department of Transportation – and providing it with the ability to collect tolls on public or private ports of entry to cover oversight costs – will soon be redrafted to simply establish the entity and have it develop a state strategy for enhancing the border economy, the bill sponsor said Friday.

House Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman (D-Detroit), sponsor of HB 4563 , said after six meetings with stakeholders the toll option has been eliminated and the authority or commission will largely be a study group under a new draft.

Tobocman said the goal of the commission will be to have the voices of industry and government at the table in dealing with long- and short-term strategies to bettering Michigan’s approach to trade be it transportation, economic development incentives or communication techniques. The panel would also make recommendations to the Legislature and any changes to law it may need to meet those goals.

The re-drafted version is significantly scaled down compared to the original bill, which would have required any new ports of entry to be approved by the authority, mandated that the authority initiate, own and develop border development projects, as well as regulate tolls.

Proponents of the legislation had said there is a void in vision for the state when it comes to border-related activities, but Ambassador Bridge officials had argued while the goal of making Detroit a national transportation hub is good, they worried the authority would be adding another layer of requirements. Bridge officials have plans to construct a second span to alleviate congestion and deal with traffic.

“I think people will be very comfortable” with the new bill version, Tobocman said.

The legislation is before the House New Economy and Quality of Life Committee and Tobocman said he hopes to have the full chamber vote on the measure sometime in the next couple months.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

a>>