Will Michigan Be Next To Ban All Natural Gas Hookups In Homes?

As we continue into the future, more people are starting to take this planet's health into consideration, and are starting to make greener choices when it comes to how they live. Whether it’s driving electric cars or even switching over to hybrid ones, using less fossil fuel, and eating less meat, there are a lot of different ways that you can think green for the future of our planet.

Many cities in California and now Massachusetts are taking it one step further and are passing legislation that will prevent certain cities from installing any more natural gas hookups in the house. That’s right, there are a few cities, like this one in Massachusetts that just passed the bill that will make it so that natural gas lines are no longer hooked up to houses.

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But what about Michigan, and their potential to pass legislature like this? Is it possible that Michigan, being the Great Lakes State, will also go that way? It’s a question the University of Michigan has already considered, and provided an answer to on its website, indicating that there’s quite a bit of work to be done if residents want that outcome:

Under current legislation, it would be difficult for a Michigan community to ban natural gas connections in new or existing buildings. A court would likely conclude that conflicting state statutes preempt any such municipal ordinances. Until state law is modified to give municipalities more flexibility in enacting their own construction code ordinances, natural gas hookup bans will be vulnerable to preemption challenges in state courts.

For now, I don't see it happening fast, but who knows what the future holds.