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Podcast 83 Special: Energy Siting Ballot Campaign
Host: Stephan Currie
Guest: Kevon Martis, Lenawee County commissioner
Topic: “This is strictly a question of who decides how to site these things, the (Michigan Public Service Commission) or local units of government.”
So explained Lenawee County Commissioner Kevon Martis about the ballot campaign he and other concerned citizens formed now to contest Public Act 233, the controversial state law adopted in 2023 on the siting of renewable energy facilities.
“Public Act 233 has really taken away any meaningful local control of wind, solar and battery storage regulation,” Martis explained to Podcast 83 host Stephan Currie in a new special episode. “We've taken the approach that people should have a vote on this, and we're trying to place the repeal of that local zoning preemption on the ballot this November.”
Under the name “Citizens for Local Choice,” this group wants voters to have a chance to modify the law to protect local control.
“We introduced this as initiated legislation and that legislation targets only the local zoning preemption (in the law),” Martis explained. “We're not touching any of the energy policy side of this.”
The group, of which MAC is now a part, needs 357,000 signatures by May 29 to meet its goal of reaching the November 2024 ballot.
“My strong recommendation to (Michigan’s county commissioners) is if each of you go out and collect one or two pages of signatures ― and each page has 12 signatures ― that will make a meaningful difference in our efforts,” Martis said.
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By DerekHost: Stephan Currie
Guest: Kevon Martis, Lenawee County commissioner
Topic: “This is strictly a question of who decides how to site these things, the (Michigan Public Service Commission) or local units of government.”
So explained Lenawee County Commissioner Kevon Martis about the ballot campaign he and other concerned citizens formed now to contest Public Act 233, the controversial state law adopted in 2023 on the siting of renewable energy facilities.
“Public Act 233 has really taken away any meaningful local control of wind, solar and battery storage regulation,” Martis explained to Podcast 83 host Stephan Currie in a new special episode. “We've taken the approach that people should have a vote on this, and we're trying to place the repeal of that local zoning preemption on the ballot this November.”
Under the name “Citizens for Local Choice,” this group wants voters to have a chance to modify the law to protect local control.
“We introduced this as initiated legislation and that legislation targets only the local zoning preemption (in the law),” Martis explained. “We're not touching any of the energy policy side of this.”
The group, of which MAC is now a part, needs 357,000 signatures by May 29 to meet its goal of reaching the November 2024 ballot.
“My strong recommendation to (Michigan’s county commissioners) is if each of you go out and collect one or two pages of signatures ― and each page has 12 signatures ― that will make a meaningful difference in our efforts,” Martis said.