The Legislature continued
working on the 2015-16 fiscal year budgets this week as the House
Appropriations Committee took a big step in voting out the omnibus budget with
no significant changes from what the subcommittees had recommended.t
House Bill 4102 includes budgets for all state departments
and agencies for the 2015-16 fiscal year except for K-12 schools, community
colleges and higher education. The
spending plan totals $37.833 billion, with $8.079 billion General Fund.
Some of the
highlights to this budget include:
Community
Health
The DCH
budget (the department has now merged with Human Services) totals $18.9 billion
with $3.1 billion coming from the General Fund. The General Fund portion is
$32.4 million higher than the current appropriation but $40 million less than the
Governor’s proposal.
This budget
also differed significantly with the Governor’s recommendations. One of the
most striking differences was his call to cut funding to rural hospitals for
obstetrics and gynecology services by $10 million. The House committee kept that
funding in place.
Amendments
adopted before it was passed out included a provision in the Department of
Community Health budget that required the department to have a plan in place to
make budget adjustments of at least $10 million if federal funds were
eliminated from the department.
Human
Services
The budget
would total $5.7 billion, $968 million General Fund, which is $13 million less
than that proposed by Governor Snyder.
General Government
The Appropriations
committee supported an amendment offered by Representative Michael McCready, (R-Bloomfield
Hills) to add $300,000 for urban search and rescue.
The
Committee rejected an amendment, however, to restore $5.8 million in revenue
sharing aid to Detroit. Currently House Bill 4102 pulls $5.8 million from
Detroit and gives it to those townships that came back into the statutory
revenue sharing system in the current year.
Corrections
The plan
would provide $1.966 billion for the Department of Corrections, a $10 million
cut from the executive recommendation and $56 million less than current year.
Among the
changes passed, the House plan would use $11.8 million collected from inmate
telephone charges to replace General Fund for education programs. The funds had
been designated in the current year for security equipment purchases.
The House
also cut funding for a variety of programs, all General Fund, including $4.5
million from the Public Safety Initiative and $1 million from the department's
field operations.
Michigan Department of Transportation
The plan
would add an additional $20 million General Fund for road work.
With those
funds in place, the budget would total $3.66 billion, $159.5 million General
Fund. It would be a $69.3 million gross
and $125.13 million General Fund cut from current year.
Agriculture
The budget
for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development increased substantially
in the full committee with an amendment adding projected revenue from new fees that
the committee had approved earlier. This budget provided $82.26 million gross
and $43.07 million General Fund. The fees would add about $2.12 million in restricted
funds. That would provide the department a net increase of about $515,000.
Department of Environmental Quality
The DEQ
budget would provide $487.91 million gross, a $31 million cut from current
year.
Michigan State Police
The House
cut $550,000 General Fund from the executive recommendation for the Department
of State Police, providing $612.98 million gross, $372.92 million General Fund.
That represents a $35.76 million gross, $17.92 million General Fund cut from
current year.
Department of Natural Resources
The budget
passed included $388 million gross, a $3.49 million cut from current year and
$1.5 million from the executive. General Fund, $37.78 million, is $8.8 million
below current and $2 million below the executive.
Department of Licensing and Regulatory
Affairs
The gross budget
is $539.3 million, $30.9 million less than current year and $6.31 million less
than the executive. General Fund was a $16.9 million cut from current year at
$22.89 million. The House continued to reject $15.28 million in new liquor
license fees, but it moved $1.5 million from liquor sales into the licensing
line.
Department of Insurance and Financial
Services
The House
version passed with $65.06 million gross and $150,000 General Fund, which
mirrors the executive recommendation, a $132,000 overall cut and $95,000
General Fund increase from current year.
Military and Veterans Affairs
$164.38
million gross, a $4.06 million cut from current year and a $429,000 increase
from the executive recommendation.
Over in the
Senate, all of the appropriations bills for the 2015-16 fiscal year are now
before the full Senate with the Appropriations Committee swiftly approving the
final three bills Wednesday funding community colleges, higher education and
K-12 schools. Some of the highlights
include:
Community Colleges
The budget
for the 28 community colleges passed with $392.6 million, a $27.87 million
increase from current year and a $1.23 million cut from the executive. General
Fund would be $132.88 million, up from zero in the current budget after the
negative supplemental earlier in the fiscal year. The governor had recommended
$137.11 million GF. The key change was the House provided a 2 percent
operations increase and the rejection of the Governor’s revised performance
funding formula.
Higher Education
This budget,
if passed, would provide $1.53 billion for the 15 universities and other
financial aid programs, a $10.03 million increase from current year and a $15
million cut from the executive recommendation.
K-12
A significant
amendment came during the K-12 budget deliberations ensuring no school district
would lose money in the upcoming fiscal year. There were a handful of districts
that faced a funding reduction based on the structure of the budget and
categorical funds. The committee approved the bill on a 12-5 party-line vote.
The House Appropriations
Committee approved the education budget House Bill 4115, however, further negotiations could provide a more bipartisan
solution to spending for K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.