By AP
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Seventy-two Michigan lawmakers, including 34 Democrats, are asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to reconsider an order slowing down the approval of proposed coal-fired electric plants.
Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon, Republican Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer and others say thousands of new construction jobs promised under a 2008 energy law shouldn't be stalled. Granholm says she did NOT issue a moratorium against new coal plants.
The Democratic governor says she instead wants utilities to first commit to installing technology that can prevent carbon dioxide emissions by storing greenhouse gases from new coal plants underground.