4 days ago
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.
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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.
