Auto No Fault Insurance Reform Passes the House Insurance Committee

The House Insurance Committee passed auto no fault insurance reform legislation that included a more specific fee schedule and a $100 rate reduction per vehicle. After seven hours of committee testimony, members put their stamp of approval on the measure by a vote of 9-6. Senate Bills 248 and 249 now make their way to the full House where all 110 members have an opportunity to weigh in on this important legislative package.

A few significant changes made in the House Committee included a specific fee schedule with a reimbursement rate at 150 percent of the Medicare rate and a requirement for auto insurers to reduce rates by $100 per vehicle in the first two years.

Opponents to the changes, including the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault, stated, “the fee schedule in this bill is completely unworkable from a health care provider standpoint and the reimbursement structure of SB 248 will cost hospitals tens of millions of dollars each.”

An amendment was offered to remove the $150,000 appropriation in the bill, but it failed. Opponents have charged the appropriation is there only to make the law referendum-proof and if revenue is needed for this reform it could be added to the budget, which is currently being worked on.

After the House changes and vote, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) and Sen. Joe Hune (R-Whitmore Lake), sponsor of the bill, said they will discuss some of the changes made by the House committee. Differences between the House and Senate versions such as, the specific fee schedule and the rate rollback will require further negotiations between the chambers to move these bills forward.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, April 24, 2015 2:42 PM
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Michigan Budget Watch

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.

The budget would spend $15.83 billion, $1.41 billion of that in general fund. The largest part of the budget was the K-12 spending, which totaled $13.91 billion, a $222.5 million increase from current year but about $49 million less than the executive recommendation. General Fund for schools would be $45.9 million, even with the executive recommendation and a $12.2 million increase from current year.

posted by PAA Online , 2:41 PM
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Long-Time Judicial Advocate and Supreme Court Justice Passes Away

Former Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth "Betty" Weaver, known for her staunch judicial temperament and freely speaking her mind, has died at the age of 74.

A New Orleans native, Justice Weaver graduated from Newcomb College and was top 10 in her law class at Tulane University Law School. She moved to Leelanau County in the 1970s and became a dean and French teacher at the Leelanau School. Weaver subsequently worked as a first grade teacher at Glen Lake Community School and continued to practice law.

She served as a probate judge in Leelanau County from 1975 to 1987 and a Michigan Court of Appeals judge from 1987 to 1995. In 1994 Weaver, a Republican was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court, where she served as Chief Justice from 1999 to 2001. She was reelected in 2002 and remained a justice until she resigned in August 2010.

Her rise to the top spot on the Michigan Supreme Court came in 1999 where she was elected unanimously as Chief Justice. She was just the third woman to serve in the post and known as a swing vote on the high court, typically joining the conservative justices when ruling in criminal cases but taking a more liberal view of the law in civil matters.

Always one to speak her mind, Justice Weaver became a controversial figure on the court, and was at times critical of her colleagues accusing them of taking a very conservative activist role when rendering opinions. She went as far as accusing justices of overturning longstanding precedents even if those precedents were not necessarily part of the argument before them.

After retiring from the Court in August 2010 and up to the time of her death, Justice Weaver has been an outspoken advocate for Court reform. Although at times controversial, Justice Weaver was an intelligent and honest asset to our state and will be missed.

posted by PAA Online , 2:40 PM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

Governor Takes Michigan Message on Tour

Governor Snyder departed on Thursday for Nevada to begin a three-day swing that includes two major political events. The Governor is planning to meet with business leaders who have started a new 501(c)4 nonprofit called "Making Government Accountable: The Michigan Story." On Saturday evening Governor Snyder will be in Washington DC for the White House Correspondents Association's annual dinner, and on Monday, he will head to Los Angeles to participate in the Milken Institute's Global Conference as part of a panel on Detroit looking at the city's emergence from bankruptcy.

Capitol Restoration and New Saturday Tour Hours

Michigan residents will once again be able to enjoy a weekend trip to the State Capitol building as Saturday hours resume June 6. Nearly 150,000 students visit the State Capitol every year to learn about Michigan’s history and lawmaking. Making a trip to the Capitol this summer may include having to navigate building restoration efforts and grounds work, which will hopefully be wrapped up by early fall.

Alan Sanborn Throws Hat into Congressional Ring

Former State Senator Alan Sanborn this week announced he will seek the seat being vacated next year by retiring Congresswoman Candice Miller. Senator Sanborn served two terms in the Michigan Senate and three years in the House. He has also worked for more than two decades as a Macomb County probation officer. So far, State Sen. Phil Pavlov, (R-St. Clair Township) is the only other formally announced candidate for the Republican nomination.

MSHDA Names New Executive Director

Kevin Elsenheimer was approved unanimously this week as the new Executive Director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. This Authority provides grants and loans for low-income housing projects and mortgage assistance, among many other state and federal housing programs. Mr. Elsenheimer was most recently Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and a former legislator, leaving in 2010 due to term limits.

posted by PAA Online , 2:39 PM
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