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Michigan slow to enact policy reforms after Flint crisis

Flint water pipes
FlintWaterStudy.org | Min Tang, Kelsey Pieper

In the year since Flint's man-made drinking water crisis exploded and was exposed primarily as a failure of state government, Michigan has allocated $234 million toward the public health emergency that exposed children to lead and has been linked to a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak.

The state has been much slower, however, in enacting policy reforms to address problems uncovered.

It's likely that no major action in the Republican-led Legislature will occur until 2017, angering Democrats who are pushing for changes to the emergency manager law and lead testing.

It's been four months since a bicameral legislative committee concluded hearings about Flint's crisis. It has yet to issue a report and recommendations. 

These are now expected by year's end.

Democrats say there's no reason to wait to start debating legislation.

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