Consumers Energy

Michigan voters decided two statewide ballot measures in the Nov. 3 general election. Proposal 1, which would have convened a state constitutional convention in 2027, failed by a wide margin, leaving the state under its 1963 Constitution; the question automatically recurs every 16 years. Opponents included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Detroit Regional Chamber, while House Speaker Matt Hall backed it as a path around a slow-moving Legislature.

Proposal 2 passed, barring campaign contributions from regulated utilities such as DTE and Consumers Energy, government contractors with sizable state deals, and related entities, while expanding donor disclosure rules to more political advertising, including online ads. Backed by Michiganders for Money out of Politics, it drew opposition from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy filed a First Amendment lawsuit against it the same day.

Michigan voters will choose between Democrat Jocelyn Benson, the secretary of state, and Republican John James, a U.S. House member, in the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, with a televised debate set for Oct. 6. The two candidates diverge sharply across a wide range of policy areas, including health care, housing, energy costs, taxes and utility regulation. Benson has pledged an electricity cost freeze, a Prescription Drug Affordability Board and expanded housing tax credits, while James favors deregulation, increased utility competition and sweeping income tax cuts paired with a government spending audit.

The candidates also split on right-to-work repeal, Line 5 pipeline construction, tariffs on Canada, and their relationships with President Trump, who has endorsed James. On the 2020 election, Benson defends Michigan's results as secure while James has suggested he was "screwed" in his own Senate loss that year. Other flashpoints include transgender athletes in girls sports, abortion rights, data center moratoriums, gun policy, Flock camera regulations and expanding the state's Freedom of Information Act. If elected, Benson would extend Democratic control of the governorship, while James would become Michigan's first Black governor.

Jackson, Michigan police officials defended their use of Flock Safety license-plate-reading cameras at a recent Community Police Oversight Commission meeting, even as they acknowledged risks of misuse without proper governance. Police Chief Christopher Simpson said the 10 AI-powered cameras help locate stolen vehicles and vehicles tied to crimes, and said investigations would take longer without them. The City Council recently approved grant funding to continue the program despite resident skepticism about surveillance and data sharing.

Nationally, scrutiny of Flock's network has intensified. The Washington Post reported at least 50 officers charged or accused of misusing plate readers, including for stalking. Connecticut has restricted such data's use in immigration and abortion cases, and Michigan lawmakers have introduced similar legislation. In Iowa, the crowdsourced Finding Flock project has documented roughly 140,000 automated readers nationwide, up sharply from 2024. Several Iowa cities, including Waukee, Indianola, Osceola, Coralville and Iowa City, have ended or paused Flock contracts, part of a broader trend of roughly 100 U.S. communities canceling or rejecting the systems amid growing privacy backlash, while supporters cite crime-solving benefits.

Federal emergency orders keeping the J.H. Campbell coal plant in west Michigan running have emerged as a campaign issue in the state's 4th District U.S. House race. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has repeatedly extended 90-day directives forcing the plant to stay open past its planned closure, citing electricity supply concerns, despite Consumers Energy's earlier deal with state officials to shut it down.

Democratic challenger Sean McCann is attacking GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga over the plant's continued operation, arguing it has raised Consumers Energy customers' bills by more than $200 million and pledging to push for its closure if elected. Huizenga counters that Michigan's clean-energy mandates, championed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democrats including McCann, are driving up utility costs and threatening reliable power. Rep. Hillary Scholten joined McCann in criticizing the administration's intervention as an unprecedented move against a private utility's decision. The dispute reflects a broader national fight over fossil fuel plant closures versus renewable energy transitions, playing out in a district expected to be closely contested this November.

Michigan's House of Representatives voted 77-26 to adopt a citizen initiative restricting political spending by utilities, but Senate Democrats have signaled they won't follow suit, sending the measure to voters in November. The proposal would bar regulated electric and gas utilities like DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, companies with more than $250,000 in annual government contracts, and closely connected entities from making direct or indirect campaign contributions to officeholders who regulate them. It would also expand disclosure requirements for political ads referencing candidates or ballot measures.

The House's move was seen as strategic: enacting the initiative directly would let a future Legislature amend it with a simple majority, while voter approval would require three-fourths support in both chambers to change. The measure reached the ballot after Michiganders for Money Out of Politics submitted more than 560,000 petition signatures, though it still faces a pending Michigan Supreme Court challenge over signature validity. The effort comes amid growing scrutiny of Michigan utilities over reliability and rate increases.