CALL TO ACTION REGARDING SB 431, September 30, 2019
On August 20th, 2019, Democratic Senator, Adam Hollier, who represents Senate District 2 in the Detroit area, introduced a bill to amend 2006 PA 110 entitled the “Michigan Zoning Enabling Act,” numbered SB 431. This bill, if signed into law, would make it impossible for any county or township zoning board to deny a special use permit for an open pit gravel mine or gas and oil drilling operation regardless of residential or rural residential zoning. Further, the bill stipulates that “the person seeking to extract natural resources by mining submits to a local unit of government a plan for the proposed extracting that includes…a setback of equipment used for screening and crushing of…not less than 300 feet from the nearest residential dwelling occupied on adjacent property as of the date of submittal of the plan for extraction.” In other words, an open pit gravel or mining operation would be permitted within 300 feet of anyone’s home and render any county or township zoning null and void.
This bill represents yet another attempt to strip citizens of their freedom to prevent egregious devaluation of their property values, pollution of their drinking water supplies, pollution of their air quality by the airborne silica carcinogens that gravel mining operations emit, the creation of dangerous traffic situations, the degradation of road surfaces by heavy truck traffic in their neighborhoods, the disturbance of wildlife, the disturbance of recreational hunting and fishing, and the devaluation of tourist rentals in the area. If citizens are prevented from making their voices heard by restrictions put upon them by legislators in Lansing, then those legislative bodies are striping citizens of their freedom to protect themselves from special interests whose only aim is to profit from the degradation of the quality of life of ordinary people like you and me.
SB 431 has recently been moved from the Senate Natural Resources Committee to the Senate Transportation Committee. The best chance of getting a bill killed is while it is still in committee. Once it has been moved to the floor, legislators have committed their votes one way or the other. Therefore, I am putting out a
Call to Action:
Concerned citizens please call and follow up with emails the following members of the Senate Transportation Committee as well as the Senate Minority Leader and Senator Hollier who introduced the bill:
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Members
Kim LaSata (R) Vice-Chair, 21st Dist, (517) 373-6960, SenKLaSata@senate.michigan.gov
Ed McBroom (R), 38th Dist, (517) 373-7840, SenEMcBroom@senate.michigan.gov
Roger Victory (R), 30th Dist., (517) 373-6920, SenRVictory@senate.michigan.gov
Rick Outman ®, 33rd Dist., (517) 373-3760 SenROutman@senate.michigan.gov
Dan Lauwers (R), 25th Dist., (517) 373-7708, https://www.senatordanlauwers.com/contact/
Erica Geiss (D) Minority Vice-Chair, Dist 5, (517) 373-7800, senegeiss@Senate.Michigan.gov
Marshall Bullock (D), Dist. 4, (517) 373-7918, senmbullock@senate.michigan.gov
Adam Hollier (D), Dist 2, (517) 373-7748, https://senatedems.com/hollier/contact/
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, 27th Dist., (517) 373-0142 senjananich@Senate.Michigan.gov
Senate Minority Whip Winnie Brinks, 29th Dist., (517) 373-1801 senwbrinks@Senate.Michigan.gov
One can ask why Sen. Hollier, would seek to force this egregious bill on Michiganders. It is imperative that the citizens of Michigan not have laws enacted that prevent them from exercising their freedoms to express their wishes and protect private property, community welfare and their quality of life.
