This week
the House of Representatives took
its first vote on the FY 2015-16 budget by passing an omnibus budget bill
funding the state's departments and agencies.
House Bill 4102 cleared the House 59-51 with all Democrats voting no. One
of the reasons the vote split down party lines was an amendment adopted that
would disallow the Department of Health and Human Services from contracting
with an organization providing elective abortions, abortion counseling or
abortion referrals.
Other amendments adopted to the bill
included one from Representative Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan), which prohibits the
Department of Natural Resources from spending state or federal dollars on the
enforcement of the decision from a federal court to put gray wolves back on the
endangered species list.
The budget in total is $37.86 billion,
with $8.099 billion coming from the General Fund. The budget also adds $112 million to the
state's rainy day fund, bringing the total to $615.9 million.
There continues to be a few unresolved
issues both chambers will continue to work on.
One issue is the Detroit revenue sharing in the budget, which is below Governor Rick Snyder's recommendation
yet larger than the previous year.
Another point the House and Senate
will have to work out together is the Health Insurance Claims Assessment. In
the Governor’s budget recommendation, he called for an increase in the tax on
all health insurance claims, which through triggering additional federal
matching funds, raises hundreds of millions for Medicaid. The House rejected
the Governor’s proposal.