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Legislature OKs lower fees for breakwalls along Great Lakes

LANSING, MI (AP)--   Michigan would cut state fees assessed on homeowners who have wave-reducing breakwalls near the Great Lakes shoreline under legislation heading to Gov. Rick Snyder's desk.

The Republican-controlled Senate approved the bill Tuesday, on a mostly party-line 23-14 vote, after a House vote last week.

The measure includes a new fee structure to use Great Lakes bottomlands for forming a private harbor exclusively for noncommercial recreational watercraft.

The bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Tom Casperson of Escanaba, has said existing fees are too high and have surprised property owners.

Democrats have criticized the bill, saying it is not right for people to put structures on publicly owned land without paying adequate fees.

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