LANSING – An existing statutory ban on drilling for oil and natural gas in or underneath the Great Lakes would be placed into the Constitution under a proposal approved Wednesday by the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee.
The measure (SJR Z ) comes about a week after the House overwhelmingly approved its own constitutional ban on the practice (HJR GGG ).
State and federal law already bans drilling for oil and gas underneath the Great Lakes, whether done through offshore derricks or through slant drilling from the shore. But lawmakers have said putting the ban into the Constitution would ensure that no future Legislature or governor could weaken or repeal the ban without voter approval.
If the two houses can agree on a measure before September, the proposal would go on the November ballot.
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