Transportation: funds; population threshold for certain grants; increase. Amends secs. 10e & 13c of 1951 PA 51 (MCL 247.660e & 247.663c).

SB 957 amends Michigan state law to increase the population threshold for certain public transportation grants from 100,000 to 200,000 residents. This change directly affects transit agencies operating in urbanized areas that currently fall between these two population figures, allowing them to become eligible for funding previously reserved for larger cities. Under the new provisions, agencies in these mid-sized urban areas will receive grants covering up to 50% of their eligible operating expenses, matching the rate given to larger cities, while smaller rural and urban agencies retain their higher 60% funding rate. The bill also maintains existing requirements for preferential fares for seniors and people with disabilities and ensures that no agency receives less funding than it did in the 1997 fiscal year.