State Rep. Cam Cavitt this week celebrated the overwhelming bipartisan support for his plan to help local communities save money by changing the current laws regarding parks and recreation boards in the state of Michigan.

House Bill 5317 would allow counties with fewer than 100,000 residents to reduce their number of required board members to 7. Currently, all parks and recreation boards in the state are required to have 10 members. By reducing the mandated number of board members, small communities throughout Michigan would be able to spend more money on other important projects, such as fixing roads and repairing failing infrastructure.

“This is a major win for common sense reform,” said Cavitt (R-Cheboygan). “Reducing these board member requirements would free up more money for counties across the state that don’t have the same resources as major metropolitan areas. These savings would mean a lot to our counties in Northeast Michigan. House Republicans vowed to tackle the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in state spending, and we are going to deliver. This legislation will allow locals to take action and cut waste as they see fit.”

Cavitt went on to emphasize the outpouring of support that this legislation has received.

“This plan is very popular, and it shouldn’t be difficult to see why,” Cavitt said. “We have the support of statewide groups, like mParks and the Michigan Association of Counties. We have extensive support from both Republicans and Democrats in Lansing. This is a good bill, and I’m proud to work across the aisle to deliver this win to the people who need it most.”

House Bill 5317 passed the House with unanimous bipartisan support. The bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration.