State Rep. Beau LaFave today spoke out in defense of the thousands of Michigan famlies living in the Upper Peninsula who would suffer higher energy rates if Line 5 were shut down.

LaFave’s statement comes in response to a recent announcement by Attorney General Dana Nessel threatening to shut down Line 5 by the end of June.

“With a renewed threat to shut down Line 5 in the next month– a move that would do irreparable harm to U.P families and businesses – Attorney General Dana Nessel has once again forgotten that she does not, in fact, make laws. Her job as the attorney general is to enforce the laws as written,” LaFave said. “The power to write the laws is reserved exclusively to 148 people called ‘lawmakers.’ If the attorney general wants to start writing laws, I welcome and encourage her to run for state representative next year.”

Ultimately, 65 percent of the propane that heats homes and businesses in the Upper Peninsula is delivered through Line 5.

In late March, Nessel declared unconstitutional the law passed by the Legislature in December creating an authority to oversee construction of a tunnel to house Line 5 and other utilities. Nessel’s opinion hinged on a legal technicality, claiming the title of the legislation did not adequately reflect the content of the plan.

“It’s clear from the attorney general’s actions on this critical issue that she is too blinded by partisan politics and urban-bias to make the right call for rural Michigan families,” LaFave said.