A bill package from last year’s legislative session aimed at improving water affordability has been reintroduced in the Michigan Senate.

Senate Bills 248-256 would cap water rates for some residents living below the federal poverty line and protect them from shutoffs. The legislation also includes a funding mechanism to support water infrastructure.

First-term state Rep. Tonya Meyers Phillips, who represents Hamtramck, Highland Park and parts of Detroit, says water affordability is a moral issue.

“Water shutoffs disproportionately effect low-income families, seniors and communities of color,” Meyers Phillips said. “These are the same communities that already bear the brunt of environmental injustices.”

State Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) is a co-sponsor of the bill package. She says around 300,000 Michigan households could benefit from a statewide water affordability program.

“Water is not just a resource,” Chang said. “It’s something that every human being needs in order to live, yet too many families in our state are struggling to afford their water bills or have in the past faced the threat of shutoffs.”

Chang says she expects the bills will receive bipartisan support and make their way to the House in the coming weeks.