State lawmakers are down to their last nine days of work before the lame duck session ends December 18th. The Ann Arbor Ypsilanti Regional Chamber is calling for a plan to fix the roads, and an update to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
Last week a bi-partisan majority of the Senate approved a boost to the fuel tax to add more than $1 billion for road repairs. Officials with the Ann Arbor Ypsilanti Regional Chamber say the plan is workable and it's time for lawmakers to act on fixing the roads.
Executive Vice President Andy LaBarre says chamber members also want the state's Civil Rights Act to include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. "This isn't a social issue for chamber members. This is a dollars and cents issue. The more bright young folks, or folks of any age frankly, you can attract and keep and develop the better," LaBarre says.
A bill introduced last week in the house has been criticized by many for not being fully inclusive. It includes protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation but not gender identity.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter— Andrew Cluley is the Ann Arbor beat reporter, and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at734.487.3363 or email him acluley@emich.edu.
