The
House and Senate passed the 2016-17 fiscal year budget bills on Wednesday.
As
is customary, the legislature divided the budget into two major omnibus bills;
one for education and one for state departments and other areas. The education
omnibus bill, SB
801, includes community colleges, K-12 schools and higher
education and passed the House 74-34 and the Senate 20-17. The departmental
omnibus bill, HB
5294, passed the House 71-37 and the Senate 26-11.
In
the budget, nine universities and six community colleges receive authorization
for major projects on campus pending construction authorization within two
years of the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year. Almost $206 million in General
Fund money will go toward supplemental purposes in the current fiscal year,
focusing on Flint water aid. The budget also includes the state’s first
matching funds for the Healthy Michigan Medicaid expansion. Additional funding
will also go toward specialty drugs to treat Hepatitis C and Cystic Fibrosis in
the Medicaid and Department of Corrections budgets.
The
budget for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 now goes to Governor Rick
Snyder for approval.