Legislative intent.

The legislative intent of this act is to establish a centralized and coordinated licensing process for the location of electric transmission line corridors and the construction, operation, and maintenance of electric transmission lines, which are critical infrastructure facilities. This necessarily involves several broad interests of the public addressed through the subject matter jurisdiction of several agencies. The Legislature recognizes that electric transmission lines will have an effect upon the reliability of the electric power system, the environment, land use, and the welfare of the population. Recognizing the need to ensure electric power system reliability and integrity, and in order to meet electric energy needs in an orderly and timely fashion, the centralized and coordinated licensing process established by this act is intended to further the legislative goal of ensuring through available and reasonable methods that the location of transmission line corridors and the construction, operation, and maintenance of electric transmission lines produce minimal adverse effects on the environment and public health, safety, and welfare. It is the intent of this act to fully balance the need for transmission lines with the broad interests of the public in order to effect a reasonable balance between the need for the facility as a means of providing reliable, economical, and efficient electric energy and the impact on the public and the environment resulting from the location of the transmission line corridor and the construction, operation, and maintenance of the transmission lines. The Legislature intends that the provisions of chapter 120 apply to this act and to proceedings under it except as otherwise expressly exempted by other provisions of this act.