Lansing, Mich. — The Michigan House of Representatives voted 91-16 on Thursday to send Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a bill that would shift regulatory authority over all ferry services to and from Mackinac Island from the state to the island’s own government. The legislation, Senate Bill 304, covers not just passenger fares but also mainland parking charges and baggage handling — a point of friction with the two municipalities where the ferries dock.
“This was a tough fight — but sometimes as legislators we have to be willing to take a hard stance and take a few arrows to do what is right,” state Sen. John Damoose, a Republican from Harbor Springs, wrote in a statement on social media. Damoose sponsored the bill, which previously cleared the Senate.
Because the legislation amends the island’s charter, it would only take effect after a majority of Mackinac Island residents vote to approve it. The island, a car-free tourist destination in Lake Huron that draws thousands of visitors each summer, relies entirely on private ferry companies to move people and freight across the Straits of Mackinac.
St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, the two communities on the mainland that host ferry terminals, have voiced strong opposition. Under the current framework, the state regulates ferry services, but the new bill would allow Mackinac Island — a city of roughly 400 year-round residents — to set not only what riders pay to board but also what drivers pay to park in lots owned by ferry operators in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. Local officials in those towns say the arrangement cedes their own zoning and revenue authority to a much smaller jurisdiction.
The bill passed with broad Democratic support and a minority of Republican votes. The governor has not indicated whether she will sign it, though the governor’s office generally does not comment on pending legislation. If signed, the state process for the charter amendment would begin, and the matter would go before island voters at a future election.