Billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert is starting a ballot drive as a �failsafe� in case Michigan�s Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer don�t enact legislation to cut the country�s highest auto insurance premiums.

Quicken Loans vice president of government affairs Jared Fleisher said Monday that a ballot committee, Citizens for Lower Auto Insurance Rates, will be created this week.

If Gilbert�s group gathers enough voter signatures, the Legislature could approve the initiative and sidestep a veto. The House and Senate have passed differing bills that Whitmer has criticized, though negotiations are ongoing.

Fleisher says it�d be best if legislators and Whitmer enact a law to reduce rates by letting people opt out of mandatory unlimited medical benefits. But he says signature-gathering must begin soon as a backup.

(AP)