LANSING ? Michigan state government departments would be prohibited from issuing rules more stringent than federal standards under legislation passed by the Senate.
Majority Senate Republicans touted passage of the seven-bill package as a significant move to improve the state’s business climate. Although most of the focus so far this year has been on the budget and taxes, the Senate GOP has made the regulatory package its headline policy item so far.
“The ultimate goal is to get as many people back to work that want to go back to work,” said Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake Township), who ran point on the legislation, at a news conference after the votes on the bills.
Most of the changes are relatively technical tweaks to the rule-making process. But the Department of Environmental Quality would have to have all its programs go through process improvement (SB 277 , passed 29-9). And in SB 279 , passed 29-9, the DEQ would have to have a “fair and equitable sampling process” in selecting persons and entities to be inspected unless the inspection resulted from a complaint, the need to inspect to determine a permit, or a few other exceptions.
But the big change was restricting departments to issuing rules no more stringent than federal ones (SB 272 , passed 27-11).
Kowall noted that now it would be up to the Legislature to issue guidelines that exceed the federal government.
“We can actually make the rules more stringent provided that it’s done by the elected body, which is the legislative process, and that’s what we’re looking to do,” he said. “We want the elected officials to be responsible, and hold their feet to the fire.”
But the change brought criticism from Democrats and environmental groups.
Sen. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) noted that former Governor William Milliken banned phosphorous from detergents in 1976 through rules to combat massive algae blooms in Lake Erie when the Legislature would not act. Ms. Warren said federal standards should be considered the floor, not the ceiling, for regulatory oversight.
“They are not written by people who feel a special stewardship like we do in Michigan,” she said.
James Clift of the Michigan Environmental Council called the bills a weakening of environmental quality.
“Federal standards to protect water quality are designed to be a minimum standard below which states are not allowed to drop,” he said in a statement. “It seems inconceivable that politicians in the Great Lakes State believe Washington bureaucrats will protect the lakes better than those who live here. But that’s what they’ve said with today’s vote.”
But the Michigan Manufacturers Association praised the legislation for improving the state’s business climate.
“At the core of this reform package is stopping regulations that exceed federal standards,” said Andy Such, MMA director of environmental and regulatory policy, in a statement. “When Michigan’s regulations exceed federal standards, other states are more attractive for investment. These bills will begin to remove a barrier to competitiveness for Michigan.”
Also passed were SB 271 (33-5), SB 273 (unanimous), SB 274 (27-11), SB 276 (28-10), and SB 278 (28-10).
a>>
