The state House is poised to vote on legislation this week to allocate $75 million toward recovery efforts in northern Michigan following the massive ice storm that swept through the region last month.

The damage includes downed trees and utility poles, damage to buildings and schools and businesses forced to close.

State Rep. Parker Fairbairn (R-Harbor Springs) told the Michigan Public Radio Network that some communities would be bankrupted if they had to shoulder the cleanup and recovery costs on their own.

“The signal to people at the end of the day is, we’re here to help,” he said. “I mean, we’re estimating somewhere between $200- and $300 million worth of damage. I think it’s going to be much more than that and there’s a lot of things we can’t really estimate right now.”

The $75 million appropriation would help leverage another $225 million in federal disaster funds. If approved this week by the House, it would still have to be approved by the Michigan Senate.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency across much of northern Michigan. She also asked President Donald Trump for a federal emergency declaration which would make the area eligible for more federal relief.

There was also a bill introduced last week that would lift minimum school instructional day requirements for schools located in counties covered by the governor’s winter storm emergency decree. Those counties include Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego and Presque Isle.

Rep. Cam Cavitt (R-Cheboygan) said it does not make sense to require students to remain in school to make up days lost due to a natural disaster.

“Our students just went through one of the most horrifying storms they will ever experience,” said Cavitt in a written statement.

“Things have been hard…We need to take steps to help these kids and their families, not force them to sit in schools that lack air conditioning until July.”