Transportation: other; Charter of City of Mackinac Island; amend; regulation of ferries; provide for. Amends sec. 1, ch. IX & sec. 1, ch. XVI of 1899 LA 437 & provides for a referendum.
Key claim: Michigan SB0304 amends the City of Mackinac Island charter to provide for regulation of ferries and submits the change to a referendum, and has been enacted with immediate effect.
Abstract
(SB0304 · 103rd Legislature) Transportation: other; Charter of City of Mackinac Island; amend; regulation of ferries; provide for. Amends sec. 1, ch. IX & sec. 1, ch. XVI of 1899 LA 437 & provides for a referendum. Sponsor: Sen. John Damoose ® + 6 co-sponsors Latest vote: House Third Reading: Given Immediate Effect Roll Call #163 — 91-16 (passed, 2026-05-21) Latest action (2026-06-04): Assigned La 1 With Immediate Effect
Why this matters
Mackinac Island’s ferries are the primary transportation link between the mainland and the car-free island, so charter-level authority to regulate them shapes access, pricing, and service reliability for a key tourism corridor. Because the change is routed through a local referendum, it also illustrates how Michigan handles municipal transportation governance amendments outside statewide infrastructure statutes.