FLINT – Residents of Flint one of the
poorest cities in the United States, will get $30 million to help pay their
water bills after a lead contamination crisis, under a bill unanimously
approved by the Michigan Senate on Tuesday.

Gov. Rick Snyder plans to sign the
bill, which had been passed unanimously by the state’s House last week.

“The safety and well-being of
Flint families remains our top priority,” said Snyder, whose
administration has faced harsh criticism for its response to the contamination
crisis in the city of about 100,000 residents.

As a cost-cutting measure in 2014,
Flint switched its water system from Detroit to a local river. The more
corrosive water from the river leached lead from water system pipes, leading to
unacceptably high levels of lead in hundreds of homes.

The funding would provide Flint
residents credits to cover residential water bills from April 2014 through this
April or until the water is clean, Snyder’s spokeswoman Laura Biehl said.

Flint residents have been using
bottled, rather than tap, water because of the lead contamination. Snyder said
the state will work with city leaders on how the credits are applied.

Children are especially vulnerable to
lead poisoning, which could cause developmental problems.

The contamination, which could have
been prevented with anti-corrosion treatment of the water, has become a
political scandal as emails and documents have emerged showing that Michigan
officials tried to play down and cover up the problem for months.

Snyder said in a statement that the
newly approved bill would bring total emergency state funding for Flint to $70
million.

Snyder has been called to testify on
the matter before a U.S. congressional committee next month. The issue has also
become a focus of the U.S. presidential campaign.

Also on Tuesday, Michigan Senate
Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and House Speaker Kevin Cotter, both Republicans,
announced the creation of a joint committee to review the Flint water crisis.

The committee will hear testimony on mistakes that led to
this situation and explore ways to prevent such a disaster in the future, the
Michigan Legislature said in a statement.