State funding for Amtrak's two Michigan lines is safe for at least a few months.
A recent supplemental spending bill for this year's state budget passed by the Senate contained a provision that would have required the state to pay bus companies the same subsidy, $7.1 million, as it pays Amtrak.
That amendment was ruled "unenforceable" by the state budget office, its spokesman, Greg Bird, said Friday.
"After our review of the language, it is not enforceable according to state law," Bird said. "It places a condition on spending that's already occurred."
State officials had said that if the language was enforced, it could have been the death knell for Amtrak's two Michigan lines: the Blue Water Line, which runs from Port Huron to Chicago, and the Pere Marquette, which runs from Grand Rapids to Chicago. The state budget did not have room for both a train and bus subsidy.
"I'm happy to hear the governor's office decided it was unenforceable," said state Rep. Lauren Hager, R-Port Huron Township. "But really, it's only the continuation of the battle to keep Amtrak financially viable."
