State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, issued the following statement on Thursday in response to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s opinion declaring certain portions of the law establishing the Straits Corridor Authority to be unconstitutional:
“Today’s opinion from Attorney General Dana Nessel comes as no surprise when considering previous remarks about Line 5 and its replacement.
“Her ruling only complicates and further delays the eventual closure of Line 5 and the construction of the tunnel replacing it.
“Line 5 provides the only viable energy alternative that ensures the needs of hundreds of thousands of households in the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula who rely on this energy source are met.
“It is important to keep in mind that an opinion from the attorney general is not legally binding. I strongly disagree with her position and fully expect the courts will rule this is not a violation.”
Reps. Beau LaFave of Iron Mountain and Greg Markkanen of Hancock today released the following statements after Michigan’s attorney general issued an opinion declaring the newly created Line 5 Tunnel Authority unconstitutional:
Rep. LaFave said:
“It’s abhorrent how the governor and attorney general have shown a complete disregard for people in our state’s rural areas. It’s terrible to ignore an entire swath of people because they may not have voted for you during the last election. The judge just ruled on the constitutionality of the law and didn’t throw it out, so I find the attorney general’s opinion highly dubious. It’s a sad day for the people of the U.P. and Northern Michigan. We all deserved much better.”
Rep. Markkanen said:
“I’m extremely disappointed but unfortunately not entirely surprised our attorney general has decided to pander to her radical political base and declare this historic bipartisan agreement unconstitutional.
“It’s a reckless and blatantly partisan ruling that will needlessly expose the people of the Upper Peninsula to heat shutoffs with potentially disastrous results. At least the attorney general waited until the weather got a bit warmer before jeopardizing heat supplies to tens of thousands of families north of the bridge.”
