State Rep. Cam Cavitt on Wednesday testified in support of a legislative effort to secure $300 million for ice storm recovery efforts in Northern Michigan. If approved, the plan would send $75 million in state relief to secure an additional $225 million in federal dollars for communities most severely impacted by the storms.

“This crisis isn’t over yet; we still have around 4,000 people out of power in my district,” Cavitt said during testimony. “The storm came on a Friday and stayed with us through Sunday. I recorded two inches of ice on my bird feeder outside my home. We had nursing homes without power. We had hospitals without oxygen. We had 911 calls that went unanswered because trees made roads impassable. This was literally a life and death situation.”

The plan, House Bill 4328, would allocate $75 million in state dollars to assist Northern Michigan communities in relief efforts. The funding would support disaster relief grants, which will aid local communities in emergency management assistance, continued operation of warming centers and purchase of emergency supplies, cleanup and recovery efforts, unemployment benefits and temporary employment opportunities for displaced workers, energy assistance, and repair or replacement of damaged public infrastructure.

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