House committee advances bill to remonument Michigan–Indiana border, allow county surveyors on commission

The House Government Operations Committee voted to report Senate Bill 595 H‑1 to the full House, a bill intended to advance a decades‑long effort to remonument the Michigan–Indiana state line and avoid losing momentum when a statutory sunset takes effect.

Senator Lindsey, who represents the 17th Senate District and sponsored the Senate version, told the committee the border has not had a full re‑survey and re‑monumentation since the 1800s and that the commission faces a statutory sunset scheduled for Jan. 1 unless lawmakers act. "If we don't take action come January 1, all the work that has been done will kind of be wiped away and we'll go back to zero," he said, urging the panel to preserve the commission and the investment already made.

The H‑1 substitute, offered by Representative Harris and adopted by the committee, allows professional surveyors residing in adjacent counties to serve on the Michigan–Indiana State Border Commission to address prior quorum problems. Representative Harris said the change "would allow surveyors that are residing in the county to solve quorum problems, being able to serve on the commission." The committee clerk recorded the substitute’s adoption as prevailing with three ayes and one pass; later the committee voted 4–0 to report SB 595 H‑1 with recommendation.

Paige Fultz of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs, told the committee the Bureau of Construction Codes houses the Office of Land Survey and Remonumentation and administers statewide remonumentation programs. Fultz said LARA supports SB 595 and that the bill also allows the state commission to grant resources directly to county remonumentation programs rather than conducting a separate state procurement for every survey project. "These programs already exist," she said, and the bill is intended to make the process more efficient without requesting additional state appropriation.

Committee members asked whether the work would place large visible monuments at border points; Senator Lindsey and LARA staff said modern remonumentation typically uses lower‑footprint permanent markers (for example, metal rods) but that the commission could select more visible corner monuments at county corners where appropriate. They also said Michigan and Indiana have coordinated the surveying work and do not anticipate interstate disputes.

The committee read a written support card from Michelle Batorra of the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors and then voted to report the substitute with recommendation.

The bill will be scheduled for further House consideration. The committee did not propose new funding; sponsors said existing appropriations allocated when the commission was reestablished remain available.