by Bridge Michigan
LANSING—The Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Friday approved summary language for a proposed ballot initiative that aims to repeal a law that allows the state to override local rejections of large wind and solar projects.
The bipartisan board’s 4-0 vote clears the way for the group Citizens for Local Choice to begin gathering signatures in hopes of reversing Public Act 233, a law passed in November that established statewide permitting standards for large-scale renewable energy projects that had previously been permitted at the local level.
Citizens for Local Choice is fighting the law because “it completely takes away local control,” said Andrea Hansen, an attorney representing the group. “The locals should be more involved in something at this scale in their community.”…
The Citizens for Local Choice ballot committee is an offshoot of Our Home, Our Voice, a coalition that advocates for local control over issues from short-term vacation rentals to renewable energy and gravel mine permitting.
The group’s leadership includes Kevon Martis, a Lenawee County commissioner and longtime fellow with the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, a conservative think tank that opposes renewable energy.
