Legislation seeking to ensure the Michigan-Indiana border is properly mapped has been approved by the Michigan Senate.
State Senator Jonathan Lindsey tells us this effort has been going on for years as the current border was drawn in the 1800s, prior to Michigan being recognized as a state.
Lindsey says the state Legislature in 2022 approved a bill that outlined Michigan’s responsibilities and provided funding to complete a joint effort between the two states to verify the border. However, unexpected delays mean the state commission set up to oversee the process will soon expire. Lindsey’s bill gives it another four years, and that’s not all.
“[It] then creates a new mechanism where the resources for this can be pushed down to the county level monumentation programs who are really the experts in this area and already do a lot of work on a routine basis on other surveying and monumentation,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey says we’re unlikely to see any major changes to the border once the effort to map it is complete.
“The goal is really to solve a problem before it becomes a real problem where somebody claims that there is a big dispute. So by going through this and having a firm agreement on it, I think that it will put the whole matter to bed and have a good solid record for the future.”
Legal issues, property disputes, Great Lakes preservation responsibilities, and even traffic enforcement have been complicated by the unclear state lines and jurisdictions.
Lindsey says it’s time to complete that cooperative effort to clear up any border questions. His legislation now goes on to the Michigan House.
