Members of the House Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee voted Thursday to advance bills that would eliminate the Environmental Rules Review Committees, implemented in 2018 by Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder. 

The panels oversees rulemaking for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), although the panels have been criticized for delaying changes to environmental rules. Environmentalists have referred to them as “polluter panels.”

In 2019, the Environmental Rules Review Committee came under fire for voting to halt stricter standards for PFAS in drinking water. 

The panels have also been slammed by environmentalists for allowing business interests a say over environmental regulations, with six members of the 11-person board representing industries regulated by EGLE. 

“These industry representatives are empowered to launch review periods that delay environmental protections from going into effect. That’s clearly bad policy, allowing the fox to guard the henhouse,” state Rep. Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy), one of the package’s sponsors, said in her testimony at the previous committee meeting.

Members of the committee voted 6-3 along party lines to advance House Bills 4824–4826. The bills will move to the House floor for further consideration.