Data center regulations could be among the policies Michigan lawmakers take up when they come back from summer break.
This week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer released her vision. It echoes proposals from both Democrats and Republicans to require more collateral for data centers’ massive utility demands on the front-end, and have them pledge to benefit communities.
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) said he believes lawmakers probably will codify some of the items in Whitmer’s proposed pledge.
“To ensure that the data centers pay for the energy bills, that the residents are not paying extra energy costs because of the data centers, and that we ensure that water is protected and our environment is protected as well,” Hall said during an appearance on WKAR’s “Off the Record.”
Critics of data centers argue the state needs to pause approvals for new projects entirely while regulations get figured out.
Current state leadership has so far resisted those calls.
During Hall’s appearance, he also discussed what lawmakers could do about lasting smoke from Canadian wildfires.
The entire state is under an air quality alert through Saturday as Canadian wildfire smoke continues to settle across the state.
Hall said he’s reached out to Canada’s U.S. ambassador about how to address it.
“I think the Canadians would want a good relationship with Michigan and so I think that they’ll want to explain to us why this is happening and what their solution is. And I’m hopeful that we could have a partnership to fix this problem,” Hall said.
When pressed on why Canadian officials would make the effort, Hall said he could hold a hearing on the matter much faster than Congress could.
An email to the Canadian Office of Global Affairs asking if there was interest from that side of the border went unanswered Friday afternoon.
Researchers suggest climate change is worsening Canada’s wildfire season.
Hall's Friday’s appearance came on the heels of President Donald Trump naming Michigan in a national address Thursday night. Trump, whose administration is sending election monitors to Detroit and Lansing this fall, repeated unfounded claims about widespread voter fraud.
He called for the FBI to reopen an investigation into an alleged voter registration fraud scheme in Muskegon that local officials caught in 2020. Many state House Republicans, including Hall, welcomed the news.
Polling in recent months has placed Trump’s approval rating in Michigan around 40%, with voters caring more about the economy than rehashing the 2020 election.
Still, Hall said candidates from his party can campaign to their base on election security while also courting the independent voters needed to win a general election.
“You have to work on issues that appeal to all of those people and I think we’re doing that with lowering property taxes, making healthcare more affordable, taking on medical debt, and lowering energy bills,” Hall said.
He said Trump and cabinet-level officials would be visiting Michigan in the coming months to campaign alongside Republicans.
Critics of data centers argue the state needs to pause approvals for new projects while regulations get figured out.
Current state leadership has so far resisted those calls.
During Hall’s appearance, he also discussed what lawmakers could do about lasting smoke from Canadian wildfires.
The entire state is under an air quality alert through tomorrow as Canadian wildfire smoke continues to settle across the state.
Hall said he’s reached out to Canada’s U. S. ambassador about how to address it.
“I think the Canadians would want a good relationship with Michigan and so I think that they’ll want to explain to us why this is happening and what their solution is. And I’m hopeful that we could have a partnership to fix this problem,” Hall said.
When pressed why Canadian officials would make the effort, Hall said he could hold a hearing on the matter much faster than Congress could.
An email to the Candian Office of Global Affairs asking if there was interest from that side of the border went unanswered Friday afternoon.
Researchers suggest climate change is worsening Canada’s wildfire season.
Friday’s appearance came on the heels of President Donald Trump naming Michigan in a national address Thursday night. Trump, whose administration is sending election monitors to Detroit and Lansing this fall, repeated unfounded claims about widespread voter fraud.
He called for the FBI to re-open an investigation into an alleged voter registration fraud scheme in Muskegon that local officials caught in 2020. Many House Republicans, including Hall welcomed the news.
Polling in recent months has placed Trump’s approval rating in Michigan around 40 percent, with voters caring more about the economy than rehashing the 2020 election.
Still, Hall said candidates from his party can campaign to their base on election security while also courting independent voters.
