Michigan House Bill HB4641

Michigan 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 6/10/25
• Refer: 6/10/25

Caption

Recreation: local parks; prohibition against dark sky preserve in the Upper Peninsula; remove. Amends sec. 75102 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.75102).

Summary

House Bill 4641 amends the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act’s dark sky preserve section to remove the existing prohibition on establishing a dark sky preserve in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The bill does not itself create a new preserve or designate a specific Upper Peninsula site; rather, it eliminates a statutory geographic restriction that currently prevents such designations. The bill leaves intact the list of currently designated dark sky preserves, which includes several state parks, recreation areas, and county parks in the Lower Peninsula. By striking the Upper Peninsula ban, the legislation would allow the state to consider future dark sky preserve designations there under the same general framework used elsewhere in the state.

Impact

If enacted, HB 4641 would amend MCL 324.75102 in 1994 PA 451 by removing subsection (2), which currently bars dark sky preserves in the Upper Peninsula. This would change state law to permit future dark sky preserve designations in the U.P., potentially affecting state-owned lands, county parks, and local tourism or conservation planning in that region. The bill does not alter the existing designated preserves or impose new requirements on landowners, but it expands the geographic area eligible for designation.

Sentiment

The available bill materials suggest generally favorable or at least permissive sentiment toward expanding dark sky preserve eligibility, with the bill framed as a removal of an outdated restriction rather than a controversial new mandate. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no direct evidence of opposition or support from legislators in the supplied record. The caption’s focus on removing the Upper Peninsula prohibition indicates the bill is aimed at opening options for future designation rather than changing existing preserves.

Contention

The main point of contention is the policy choice to allow dark sky preserves in the Upper Peninsula, which the current statute expressly forbids. Supporters would likely view the change as expanding conservation, astronomy, and tourism opportunities in the U.P., while opponents may prefer to keep the geographic restriction for land-use, administrative, or regional policy reasons. No specific stakeholders, committee concerns, or recorded objections are included in the provided materials, so any further dispute is not documented here.