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Flint residents dealing with undrinkable water would get help paying their water bills under legislation approved by the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday.

(MLive.com File)

LANSING, MI - The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a bill to spend $30 million out of the current year's budget to pay for a portion of Flint residents' water bills.

Flint residents' water was rendered unusable for cooking and drinking in October after a change in water source leached lead from existing pipes and into the water supply, exposing an unknown number of children to lead. The full Senate approved the bill to help pay residents' bills on Feb. 4.

In the House Appropriations Committee and on the Senate Floor, Democrats offered amendments to boost the total amount for bill payment to $60 million, up from $30 million. Those attempted amendments have not found footing with the Republican majority, and another was shot down in committee Wednesday.

Democrats in the House Appropriations Committee also failed to get amendments that would have put state funding into the Women Infants and Children nutrition program and kickstarted an effort to replace lead services lines.

The committee reported the bill unanimously.

Gov. Rick Snyder praised the Senate legislation and included the $30 million proposal in his budget presentation earlier this month. The $30 million would bring the total amount of Flint aid to $71.2 million total, $59.8 of which is from the state's general fund. Previous allocations have facilitated a reconnection to Detroit water and addressed immediate needs like filters. The state also used $3.8 million from the Michigan State Police's Disaster Emergency Contingency Fund.

Between the $30 million for water bills and planned appropriations from the next fiscal year, Gov. Rick Snyder has proposed an additional $195 million in state money to address the Flint water crisis. If all of it goes through, the state will have dedicated $232 million to the crisis.

Emily Lawler is a Capitol reporter on MLive's statewide Impact Team. You can reach her at elawler@mlive.com, subscribe to her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter: @emilyjanelawler.