A bill that would prevent state agencies from adopting standards stricter than federal standards is on its way to the governor’s desk. This applies to areas like environmental and workplace cleanup regulations.
Representative Donna Lasinski (D-Ann Arbor) voted against the bill. She says environmental regulations are not one size fits all.
“I am a state legislator in the state of Michigan and I am unwilling to cede my authority to the federal government,” she says.
Representative Triston Cole (R-Mancelona) is a bill sponsor. He says this is about creating an open rulemaking process, because the rules would either meet the federal standard or go through an open appeal process to be tightened.
“We have unelected bureaucrats that place rules that have the power of law that circumvent elected officials like myself and the rest of my colleagues. This offers some transparency into why they’re making these rules,” he says.
There are some exceptions in the bill. If the director of the agency who’s trying to make a stricter rule says there is a “clear and convincing need” to go beyond the federal standard, the state could make an exception.
