A spending bill awaiting Governor Gretchen Whitmer's signature would include $250 million for improving access to broadband internet.
That money would help fund the construction of a broadband network and pay for full-time staff to run the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office.
The Center for Change is a Northern Michigan Advocacy group that has long pushed for increased connectivity.
"You have to have a plan of how you’re going to spend it and you have to then be held accountable for how it’s being spent. So, we need to have staff that’s dedicated to that work. That’s collecting the data, writing the plan, and having subject matter experts." said Executive Director Joanne Galloway. She says it will handle an influx of cash for building out networks.
The governor created the Michigan High-speed Internet Office through executive order last spring but the legislature hadn’t funded staff for it until now.