Michigan state House Republicans have put forward a pair of bills designed to return zoning and land use decisions about proposed green energy projects to local communities.
HB 4027 and 4028 were approved by the Energy Committee on April 22. All 10 Republican members voted for the bills, and all seven Democratic members voted against them. The measures will now advance to the House floor for further consideration.
None of the seven Democrats on the committee responded to requests for comment by publication time.
In 2023, shortly after the Democrats took control of both chambers of the state Legislature in the 2022 midterms, they approved legislation that transferred most of the approval process for all proposed large-scale windmill and solar farms to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), a three-member panel appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat….