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Committee hears bill to bar local bans on natural gas appliances; lawmakers debate local control
Summary
Representative Frisbie presented House Bill 44 86 to prohibit local ordinances that restrict natural gas appliances; supporters framed the bill as protecting consumer choice and reducing costs while opponents and some members raised local-control and infrastructure concerns; no committee vote was taken.
Representative Frisbie presented House Bill 44 86 to the House Energy Committee, saying the bill “prohibit[s] local ordinance and policies from restricting the use of natural gas appliances” and would render future local ordinances, resolutions or policies adopted after the act’s effective date “void and unenforceable.”
Frisbie described the measure as protecting consumer choice and limiting local government overreach. “Who are we to tell a family how they can keep their families warm following an ice storm?” Frisbie asked, adding that natural gas can provide cost savings and continuity during outages: “I’ve never in 1 1 time in my entire public safety career, I saw a gas grid shut off 1 time.”
Committee members raised questions about the measure’s effect on local control and whether it would affect infrastructure or farmland protections. Representative Myers Phillips and others probed the tension between statewide preemption and municipal authority, noting recent local debate over solar-related rules. Representative Rixey asked whether the Ann Arbor ordinance Frisbie referenced had prohibited gas stoves during its consideration; Frisbie said the proposed Ann Arbor ordinance would have applied to new construction and that, as proposed, it would have prevented natural gas stoves in new builds.
Frisbie repeatedly framed his bill as protecting consumer choice and affordability and cited U.S. Department of Energy figures he said showed lower annual bills for gas homes. "The US Department of Energy has determined that natural gas costs are 3.4 more affordable times, or 3.4 times more affordable than electricity," Frisbie said, and later referenced a DOE finding that homes using natural gas “produce 11% lower emissions” than a mixed electric/gas home in the analysis he cited.
Members also noted stakeholder submissions: the committee clerk read pro and con cards recorded for the record, including submitted support from trade groups and utilities (Home Builders Association of Michigan, TC Energy, Consumers Energy among supporters listed) and opposition registered by several associations and environmental groups (Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Township Association, Michigan Environmental Council, Sierra Club, and others).
No motion or vote on House Bill 44 86 was recorded during the hearing. The bill remained under committee discussion at adjournment.
