Leaders Sign Budget Target Agreement

A target agreement for the 2014-2015 fiscal year budget was signed by Governor Rick Snyder, House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) on Thursday. All of the state departments and major budget areas are addressed in the agreement, which lays out how much money each group will receive. The agreement provides guidelines for finishing the budget to Appropriations subcommittee chairs in both the House and the Senate. The goal is for the budget to be finished before June 12^th when session is expected to adjourn for the summer. In the agreement $10.18 billion is appropriated to the General Fund

Three budget areas have targets of over $1 billion, with Community Health, Corrections, and Higher Education receiving $3.24, $1.98, and $1.21 billion, respectively. The ten areas with budgets in the hundreds of millions are: Human Services at $995.5 million; Technology, Management and Budget with $479.1 million; State Police at $384.2 million; Transportation has $286.2 million; the Strategic Fund has $244.6 million; $186.5 is planned for Judiciary; Community Colleges are slated for $167.1 million; the Legislature is expecting $127.4 million; Treasury is at $117 million; and the School Aid Fund is targeted at $114.9 million.

There are ten more areas that are budgeted in the tens of millions of dollars in the agreement. These areas are Education with $82 million; Military and Veterans Affairs at $49.2 million; Natural Resources receiving $48.6 million; Agriculture and Rural Development at $45.9 million; Environmental Quality coming in at $40.9 million; Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has $40 million; the Attorney General is expecting $38.3 million; the Secretary of State will receive $17.5 million; the Legislative Auditor General’s office is scheduled for $14.9 million; and the Civil Rights budget area can expect $13.5 million according to the agreement. Only the Executive branch has a target in the millions with $5.9 million expected to come their way and Insurance and Financial Services, with $150,000, is the only budget area expected to receive under $1 million.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, June 6, 2014 10:40 AM
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Senate Grants Passage of $195 Million, Oversight to End Detroit Bankruptcy

A commitment of $194.8 million from the State of Michigan to the Detroit “Grand Bargain” passed the Senate on Tuesday. Joining Governor Snyder in celebrating the Senate’s passage of nine of the original eleven house bills were members from both chambers of the Legislature as well as U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Rosen, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, and representatives from Mayor Mike Duggan’s office. While the plan still must pass a vote of Detroit retirees and be found legal in a trial with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes presiding, the passage of the package was something to celebrate according to lawmakers from both parties. The news of a $3.5 million dollar commitment from the Skillman Foundation, bringing the foundation total to $370 million, was also announced Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) called the vote a “very responsible vote.” He elaborated saying that it was the right thing to do fiscally as it eliminated the chance of $3 billion in liabilities but it was also right for the people of Detroit as retirees will receive more of their pensions that they have built throughout their lives. The Grand Bargain consists of foundations, the State, and the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) pulling together more than $800 million dollars. Many legislators, including Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing), House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), and House Minority Leader (Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) spoke to the bipartisan work done in order to pass this Grand Bargain, which would diminish the cuts to Detroit pensioners and protect art works at the DIA from being sold in an attempt to pull Detroit out of bankruptcy.

All eleven of the bills in the package were in the Senate Government Operations Committee; however, two of the bills were not moved from Committee on Tuesday. House Bill 5571, which would prevent the DIA from being able to renew their millage, and HB 5572, which would allow the State to use the budget stabilization or “rainy day fund” in order to help with the Detroit bankruptcy, were left in Government Operations. HB 5571 was not moved from Committee because there was no support for the motion to move the bill to the floor. Senate Majority Leader Richardville (R-Monroe) asked for support on the motion of reporting the bill to the floor of the Senate and was met with silence. He has opposed the bill from its conception.

Three of the bills in the package cleared the Senate by narrow margins. HB 5573, which would transfer money to the budget stabilization fund from the tobacco settlement over a 20 year period, HB 5574, that would move the $194.8 million to the Detroit fund from the budget stabilization fund, and HB 5575, which deals with the disbursement of funds to retirees through the creation of the Michigan Settlement Administrative Authority, all passed with a final vote count of 21-17. Senator Coleman Young II (D-Detroit) was the only Democrat to vote no on all of the bills saying that the bills diminished democracy by creating more government oversight in the city of Detroit. Senator Young II (D-Detroit) was joined by 16 Republicans as the no votes on all three bills.

HB 5568, which would limit the amount that can be given to employee retirement plans by the city, passed with a 24-14 vote count, the next slimmest margin. The rest of the votes were done by much larger margins, HB 5566, which would set up an oversight commission for Detroit, passed 36-2 while the issue of requiring a chief financial officer with a four-year financial plan, HB 5567, had a 37-1 split. HB 5569 and HB 5576, measures to keep the city from ignoring the state limit on health insurance costs and force the city’s financial situation to be investigated by arbitrators, passed 36-2 and 37-1, respectively.

posted by PAA Online , 10:39 AM
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Immediate Effect Changes Clear House Committee

The House Government Operations Committee reported a constitutional amendment Wednesday that would change the way immediate effect is granted in the House. House Joint Resolution FF was reported on a 3-0 vote with both Representative Rudy Hobbs (D-Southfield) and Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) abstaining from the vote. HJR FF would require a two-thirds roll call vote of both legislative chambers in order to enact immediate effect and would stipulate that bills not granted immediate effect would become law 90 days after they were filed with the Department of State.

Representative Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) is the primary sponsor of the resolution and he is joined by 96 co-sponsors of the bill. Mr. McBroom stated that the resolution is based on the way the Senate currently handles immediate effect and by leaving the vote out of the House Journal the resolution allows the minority party the ability to negotiate with the majority to grant immediate effect to a bill without supporting it. Although historically the minority party is the one complaining about the handling of immediate effect passage, Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) said that without recording the vote it cannot be known if there are enough votes to grant immediate effect.

Traditionally, immediate effect has been decided by a voice vote under the presiding officer who is a member of the majority party. This allowed passage of immediate effect on bills even if two-thirds of the House did not support the passage. Currently without immediate effect a bill does not become law until 91 days after the end of the two year legislative session (sine-die) unless there is an effective date mentioned in the bill.

The former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, Bruce Timmons, spoke in support of the bill saying that the 90-day clause made sense as immediate effect has become such a common practice in the House. He added the only option for restoring the correct process to immediate effect may be a constitutional amendment. HJR FF would have to be passed with a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate in the next week in order to make the general election ballot in November.

posted by PAA Online , 10:39 AM
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Snyder Calls for an ‘Age-Friendly’ State, Schauer Blasts Tax Reform

Governor Snyder delivered a special message Monday regarding improvements that need to be made to aging services in the state. Almost two million residents in Michigan are 60 and older and 85 and older is the fastest growing population in the state said Mr. Snyder. Governor Snyder’s presumed opponent in the election, Mark Schauer, used the opportunity to criticize many of the Governor’s policies including the elimination of the exemption on pension income above a certain level, which Mr. Schauer said has only hurt Michigan’s elderly. Snyder defended the tax during his message saying that the changes were made in order to make the income tax fairer not to adversely affect seniors.

Mr. Snyder asked for the Legislature to share his goal of improving seniors’ lives by making Michigan a “no wait state” for meals on wheels and investing to improve other aging services as he has done in his budget recommendation with $20 million. Mr. Snyder listed criteria he believes are essential for seniors to live a high quality life such as remaining active, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, being financially secure, and maintaining independence. He said that it is imperative to seniors’ independence that they stay healthy and he noted that 30 percent of older adults in Michigan are obese while 42 percent are overweight. Mr. Snyder said the recently-created Health Endowment Fund will search for ways to make the lives of seniors better.

On the topic of caregiving, the Governor asked that caregivers receive help from businesses in order to balance at-home and at-work responsibilities. Governor Snyder stated that the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, the Department of Community Health, and the Office of Services to the Aging would help to improve state nursing homes by putting together quality measures and incentives for person-centered performance.

Additional topics included in the Governor’s remarks include:

Consolidating all health care services through one program called MI Health Link. This program targets “dual enrollees,” or people receiving both Medicare and Medicaid, and would debut in some areas during 2015.
Consolidation of all aging resources into one portal making it easier for seniors to find resources they need.
Fraud prevention to protect aging residents noting the Legislature has started the process but needs to do more. There is a need for a wider range of transportation for seniors.
A pilot program to be created through the Pathways to Potential program to put seniors in mentoring rolls for children in the Detroit school system.

posted by PAA Online , 10:38 AM
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House Committee Reports Bill for Management of Aquatic Invasive Species

The House Natural Resources Committee passed Senate Bill 444 Tuesday on a 6-3 vote. The bill would require the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to issue permits for eradicating aquatic invasive species no later than April 15, 2015 or 30 working days after the application for the permit had been submitted. The bill put a 15 business day maximum on permit distribution when the body of water is on a list of water sources being crowded by a species. New restrictions added to the permit include: narrowing down the water source from a channel of water to a specific body of water, more requirements when a body of water is being chemically treated, and puts a new term of three years on the permits.

The term length was an issue for Representative Scott Dianda (D-Calumet) as he believed a one-and-a-half or two-year permit would be better suited. The DEQ’s Legislative Affairs Director said that the three year length worked best for the Department as it allowed more time for staff to get out on the water and observe the effects of the treatment.

During the committee meeting SB 20 and SB 613 were also reported. SB 20 would allow for denial of DEQ hazardous waste operating licenses to anyone with a criminal record while SB 613 would drop the salvaging permit requirement for wildlife killed by vehicles. Senator Darwin Booher (R-Evart) is the sponsor of SB 613, and believes that the bill would help law enforcement as they do not have the time to deal with small matters like road kill and that the bill would allow for easy collection of road kill by the public. Representative Bruce Rendon (R-Lake City) believes that this bill will lead to cleaner roadways and that this legislation is in great need as there is a statewide problem with dead animals on the roads. The Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Conservation Club said that with major concerns they were going to stay neutral on the bill. Both groups believed that the passage of this law could lead to poachers purposefully hitting animals in their cars.

posted by PAA Online , 10:37 AM
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Quote of the Week

“I don’t understand a lot of things. I think somebody should point that out.”

- Senator Gilbert DiNello, 1984

posted by PAA Online , 10:36 AM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

Task Force Recommends Keeping State Bar Mandatory for Attorneys

A Supreme Court created task force issued a report Tuesday stating that attorneys should in fact be required to join the State Bar of Michigan. The task force was created in response to a State Bar action last January that asked Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to make mandatory the disclosure of donors to judicial campaigns. The task force looked into the political involvement of the State Bar and recommended that the Supreme Court prohibit involvement from the State Bar in a number of areas. According to the task force, mandatory membership of the State Bar allows for public services to be delivered; however, it also puts some restrictions on their actions. The Supreme Court will be taking public comment on the issue through August 4^th.

Bills Would Allow Electronic Absentee Ballots, Registration for Military

House Bill 5633, which involves the creation of online voter registration through the Department of State’s website, HB 5634 that allows for ballots postmarked before the polls close on election day to be counted in the official results, and HB 5635, which would allow absentee ballots to be sent electronically and would make Michigan the 23^rd state to do so, were all referred to the House Elections and Ethics Committee on Wednesday. The sponsors of the bills, Representative David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) and Representative Sarah Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores), explained the need for the bills to simplify the voting process for our military members overseas.

posted by PAA Online , 10:34 AM
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