Michigan Senate moves to establish commission for settling border with Indiana
Michigan State welcome sign. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
(FOX 2) - Border disputes may not seem like the typical problem for a state like Michigan, which shares most of its boundaries with lakes rather than other states.
But its border with Indiana, which is determined by survey information that goes back centuries, remains somewhat uncertain. That's created problems for police investigating traffic accidents and residents resolving property disputes.
Now, almost 200 years after its founding, the states of Michigan and Indiana hope to resolve any remaining border ambiguities that remain between them.
"This is the only area of the state that still does not have a clearly outlined and properly surveyed border," said Sen Kim LaSata, R-Niles in a statement. "Borders with Ohio and Wisconsin have been revisited, so there is both precedent and a need for this project."
Senate Bills sponsored by the southwest Michigan lawmaker that would establish a state commission to meet with a similar body in Indiana passed the state House of Representatives in late April. The bills now go to the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for signing.
Under the bills, Michigan would establish a commission that would fulfill a joint effort initiated by the two states to officially determine the border. Funding for the body was approved in the 2022 fiscal year budget.
Similar funding was already approved in Indiana.
The proposed commission would use five surveyors licensed in the state and reside in souther Michigan counties including Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Branch, and Hillsdale.
"This is great news for Southwest Michigan and for residents of Indiana as well," LaSata said. "Once completed, a formal survey along with updated, clearly identifiable monuments will finally establish a clear border between the two states."
While the border isn't expected to change much, the uncertainty about where it lies has complicated some land developments and work on invasive species. A release from the state Republican Senate said property disputes that have unfolded in areas that don't completely belong to one state or another has made legal proceedings difficult.