Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River, released the following statement after Democrats cancelled legislative session for the rest of the year after losing their narrow House majority. The Legislature officially adjourned Tuesday, the earliest in over 40 years.

“Democrats just spent two weeks passing legislation that will wreak havoc across Michigan. Now, they’re tucking their tails, ignoring their duty to the voters, and running out of town. We are a full-time legislature. It’s been forty years since we’ve adjourned as early as Democrats did this week.

“Lansing is where elected officials come to make their constituents’ voices heard. Last week, Democrats sent a radical energy plan to the governor’s desk, and I’ve been hearing a lot about it. My district is especially concerned with this unpopular and dangerous solar siting legislation. Folks across the U.P. are outspoken opponents of stripping control from local government and handing it over to the MPSC. The people of the Upper Peninsula have grown to expect ‘peninsula over party’. Once again, they are left outraged that the U.P. delegation fractured to allow for the passage of this terrible legislation.

“The Democrat energy package makes our grid less reliable and less sustainable. The Upper Peninsula is reliant on natural gas for our baseload energy supply. This radical plan hamstrings power producers by forcing them to abandon natural gas and other options like biomass fuels. In its place, our districts will have to turn to ineffective wind and solar energy. This short-sighted and partisan package will be a nightmare for our largest industries, like timber and mining, who rely on affordable and reliable energy. This legislation will close plants, cut jobs, and leave families who don’t have a standby generator in the dark.

“A bad plan like this isn’t the end. I’m ready to have the difficult conversations with industry, labor and especially my colleagues. We need be to be leaders in making our energy grid reliable and affordable. But energy hardly scrapes the surface of the laundry list of topics Democrats ignored, including an incoming tax hike, school safety, crumbling infrastructure, first-responder shortages, and countless other urgent matters. Instead of working in Lansing to solve any of those problems, Democrats have their feet up at home sipping hot chocolate pondering how to best celebrate their short-sighted legislative wins.”

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