Republicans offer proposal to block locals from banning natural gas
Rep. Steve Frisbie (R-Battle Creek) testifies before the House Energy Committee on June 3, 2025. | Screenshot
Local control and energy choice issues were once again up for discussion in the Michigan Legislature this week as a Republican representative made his case on a proposal centered around natural gas-powered appliances.
The legislation came from Rep. Steve Frisbie (R-Battle Creek), who testified Tuesday before the House Energy Committee.
Frisbie's House Bill 4486, he said, inspired by attempts to ban natural gas connections and appliances in new homes, pointing to a 2023 proposal in Ann Arbor urging city leaders to ban gas service in new housing builds with limited exceptions.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
In response, House Bill 4486 would prevent municipalities from adopting or enforcing ordinances, policies or resolutions that ban the use of natural gas in their locality, or block the installation of natural gas infrastructure, voiding any ordinance that violates this law.
'This legislation is a reflection of personal freedoms,' Frisbie said. 'Who are we to tell a family how they can keep their families warm following an ice storm.'
However, old arguments stemming from Republican's opposition to legislative Democrat's 2023 energy law changes quickly bubbled to the surface, as Rep. Julie Brixie (D-Meridian Township) asked Frisbie whether he believed in local control.
More than a year and a half ago, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer put her pen to legislation aimed at expanding clean energy in Michigan, with one set of bills granting the state's energy regulator the authority to approve permits for large-scale renewable energy and battery storage projects, which was previously exclusive to local governments.
Republicans viewed the change as an incursion, ripping zoning control away from Michigan communities to force wind and solar on localities who had opposed those resources.
Earlier this year, members of the Republican-led House voted on party lines to repeal the change, with Senate Republicans unveiling their own effort to eliminate the law in late May. However, neither proposal is likely to make it through the Democratic-led Senate.
While multiple Democratic members of the House Energy Committee pressed Frisbie on how his bill would impact infrastructure and interact with farmland preservation ordinances, Frisbie said the policy 'has nothing to do with gas infrastructure.'
'It has to do with appliances and a choice of being able to use gas versus electric as a user,' Frisbie said. 'It has nothing to do with infrastructure.'
Courtney Brady, the Midwest deputy director for Evergreen Action, which advocates for Climate Action in several states, called the scope and the motivation of the bill confusing, telling Michigan Advance 'the fact that the bill is so open ended is concerning.'
Although there are incentives in the state to help Michiganders upgrade to energy-efficient electrical appliances, Brady said Michigan localities aren't looking to ban natural gas, calling the bill a 'false solution in search of a problem.'
'These are messaging attempts,' she said. 'They're distractions.'
Prior to the introduction of Frisbie's legislation, Sen. Joe Bellino (R-Monroe) introduced a nearly identical policy in the Democratic-led Senate, Senate Bill 275. It has not received a committee hearing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
California gov describes Trump's deployment of National Guard as 'the acts of a dictator'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump of 'the acts of a dictator' for deploying National Guard troops to quell violent protests in Los Angeles. Newsom posted to socia media a video of Trump saying he would charge state and local officials federally if they interfere with the immigration enforcement that sparked the protests June 6, 7 and 8. Gavin accused Trump of 'inciting and provoking violence,' 'creating mass chaos' and 'militarizing cities.' 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,' Newsom said. The two men have long been at odds. Trump said on social media June 7 that federal authorities needed to step in because of the inaction of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom, who Trump has nicknamed. "If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!" Trump said in the post. The two have repeatedly clashed, most recently in late May, when Trump threatened to cut California's federal funding after a transgender high school athlete qualified for the state championship. "Large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently," Trump said at the time, if California fails to follow an executive order he signed Feb. 5 seeking to bar transgender student athletes from playing women's sports. Newsom, a Democrat with presidential aspirations, has also sparred with Trump over tariffs, fighting fires and the management of water and environmental resources, though he has also criticized his own party. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California governor accuses Trump of 'acts of a dictator'
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Speaker Johnson teases follow-ups to the ‘one big, beautiful bill'
The 'one big, beautiful bill' may not be so singular, after all. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is teasing follow-up legislation to the megabill of President Trump's tax cut and spending priorities that Republicans can push though using the same special budget reconciliation process that requires only GOP votes. That tool can be used once per fiscal year, with the current fiscal year ending on Sept. 30. So after Republicans are done with the 'big, beautiful bill,' the GOP trifecta has, in theory, two more shots to muscle through party-line legislation before the next Congress comes into power after the midterms. Johnson floated plans for a second reconciliation bill while rebutting concerns from deficit hawks on the budget impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which includes an extension of tax cuts and boosts to border and defense funding, with costs offset in part by new requirements on low-income assistance programs like Medicaid and food aid. 'Everyone here wants to reduce spending,' Johnson said Friday morning on CNBC. 'But you have to do that in a sequence of events. We have a plan, OK? This is the first of a multistep process.' 'We're going to have another reconciliation bill that follows this one, possibly a third one before this Congress is up, because you can have a reconciliation bill for each budget year, each fiscal year. So that's ahead of us,' Johnson continued, also pointing to separate plans to claw back money based on recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 'We're also doing rescissions packages. We got the first one delivered this week from the White House, and that will codify many of the DOGE cuts.' The promise of another reconciliation bill is somewhat surprising given the crux of the debate that dominated the early weeks of the year: Should Republicans divide up their agenda into two bills, passing the first quickly to give Trump an early win on boosting funding for border enforcement and deportations? Or would putting all of Trump's priorities into one bill — which would contain both bitter pills and sweeteners for different factions of the razor-thin majority — be a better political strategy? Trump eventually said he preferred 'one big, beautiful bill,' a moniker that became the legislation's official title in the House last month. It's not clear what would be in a second piece of legislation. Multiple House Republicans who spoke with The Hill were unaware of plans for more reconciliation bills and were not sure what could be included in them. 'I think we need to see what's left on the table after the first one,' Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) said. And to muster through multiple reconciliation bills is a delicate prospect. If members know more reconciliation bills are coming, that complicates the argument that everything in the current package — even policies some factions dislike that others love — need to stay in one megabill. The Speaker declined to elaborate on what might be in such a package when asked in a press conference last week. 'I'm not going to tell you that,' Johnson said. 'Let's get the first one done.' 'Look, I say this is the beginning of a process, and what you're going to see is a continuing of us identifying waste, fraud, abuse in government, which is our pledge of common sense, restoring common sense and fiscal sanity. So we have lots of ideas of things that might be in that package.' Republicans had started planning for the current legislative behemoth months before the 2024 election so they would be prepared to quickly execute on their policy wish list if they won the majority. 'This isn't something we just drew up overnight. So, we'll go through that same laborious process,' Johnson said. But some members have ideas of what else they'd like to see. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said that he'd hope a second bill would do more to tackle rolling back green energy tax credits and make further spending cuts. Ultimately, though, it will be Trump's call, Norman said: 'I know when the president gets involved, it adds a lot of value.' And Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) speculated that passing the 'big, beautiful bill' would inspire members to keep going with another bill. 'People like the feeling of winning,' Pfluger said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Newsom Seeks Control Of National Guard From 'Dictator' Trump; LAPD Puts City On Tactical Alert Over ICE Protests
The conflict between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump over ICE raids in Los Angeles and the federalization of the National Guard has escalated today as the LAPD put the City of Angels on tactical alert over anti-deportation protests and resistance. 'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' the Governor bluntly said online of the state of affairs in LA. More from Deadline Judge Denies Corporation For Public Broadcasting's Motion In Trump Case, But Ruling Still Allows For Board Members To Remain - Update ABC News Suspends Terry Moran Over X Post That Called Trump Official Stephen Miller A "World-Class Hater" '60 Minutes' Correspondent Scott Pelley Says Trump Lawsuit Settlement & Apology Would Be "Very Damaging" To Reputation Of CBS And Paramount In a whirl of events Sunday in a very tense LA, Newsom and Chief Jim McDonnell both are trying to grasp back control of the state and city from the tough-talking and heavy-handed Trump and stop things from escalating – with the Governor calling POTUS a 'dictator.' Earlier today, Trump took to his usual bully pulpit of social media proclaimed in his hyperbolic manner that 'a once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals.' Going on a factually challenged rant, the former Celebrity Apprentice host added: 'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' An anti-ICE rally moved this afternoon from City Hall to the nearby federal building where over 100 detainees (including young children) rounded up by masked agents in the past two days have been housed in dank basements without access to lawyers. In response, top cop McDonnell moved first Sunday to keep protesters and the heavily armed National Guard and Homeland Security forces apart and prevent further clashes. Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to LA, and, under a questionable legal basis, the Secretary of Defense has put Marines at Camp Pendleton on alert. The last time the National Guard put on the streets like this in LA was back in 1992 in the uprisings following the acquittal of four LAPD cops over their filmed beating of Rodney King. At that time, it was then Golden State Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, who requested the deployment. Two-term Democrat and potential presidential contender Newsom never requested this weekend's deployment. In fact, the Governor argued with Trump to do the exact opposite, in a call the two had before POTUS went to a UFC fight in New Jersey late Saturday. 'The City of Los Angeles is on Tactical Alert.' the LAPD announced around 2:30 p.m. PT as tensions rose. As well as raising the use of force, the move puts all officers on notice they could be called into duty ASAP and keeps those already on shifts working. Soon afterwards, an unlawful assembly was declared to clear the area around the federal property, where thousands were gathering in protests. Disbursement non-lethal shots, flash bangs, and gas canisters were heard being fired over the crowd by the cops. In conjunction, as protesters and CHP cops clogged up the 101 freeway in downtown LA, local streets were being closed down to keep traffic and more people out of the area Following usual police procedure, arrest began quickly of those closest to the line of officers. There are rumors that a curfew cold be put in place soon, but law enforcement sources that Deadline spoke to said that is 'not in the cards, not being considered right now.' 'To have this here is really just a provocation and something that was not needed in our city,' LA Mayor Karen Bass told CNN Sunday afternoon rejecting Trump's assertion that the troops were needed and as the tactical alert was put in place. 'We're still recovering after five months from the city's worst natural disaster in decades and now to go through a trauma like this that is really traumatizing the whole city, because everybody knows somebody in a city where more than 50% are Latino, this just so chaos that is not warranted nor needed in the city of Los Angeles at this point in time.' The incumbent Mayor and ex-Democratic Congresswoman also noted that the role of the National Guard is to 'protect federal property,' not to swarm the streets of the sanctuary city or aid anticipated further harsh ICE raids against undocumented Angelenos and others. Mayor Bass is set to give a press conference on the state of affairs in LA today later this afternoon. Accusing Trump and team of trying to 'manufacture a crisis in LA County' and 'create chaos' with the injection of troops that literally no one asked for, Gov. Newsom formally made a move Sunday to regain his control of the Guard, for what it's worth at this point. 'I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,' the longtime Trump foil and MAGA punching bag said online in a letter to Sec. Pete Hegseth less than 24 hours after Trump seized the Guard over the governor's objections. 'There is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles, and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation, while simultaneously depriving the state from deploying these personnel and resources where they are truly required,' the letter says. Newsom makes a point of noting that proper procedure of the order was never being passed on to him previously. Setting the stage for a legal missive in the next few days, Newsom adds that the move to bring in the Guard was not 'ordered or approved by the Governor of California,' as required, Part of a protocol between the state and the feds, Newsom's Guard letter to the much criticized Defense Secretary and former Fox News host follows a letter from every Democratic Governor around America slamming Trump for his 'abuse of power' in LA. Mocking Trump and his crew all day, Newsom himself took it further Sunday, calling Trump's actions to be 'the acts of a dictator, not a President.' Unlike when news of the National Guard order went out last night, all the cable newsers had wall-to-wall coverage Sunday of what was going down in LA. MORE Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
