LANSING – About $6.9 million in funding for horse racing programs vetoed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm would be restored under a bill that passed the Senate on Thursday.

The bill (HB 4311 ) replaces all but $1.7 million of the funding Granholm vetoed in the 2009-10 fiscal year budget for those programs. It uses money from the Agriculture Equine Industry Development Fund to pay for the funding restoration.

But even as the Republican-controlled Senate passed the funding on a 32-2 vote, it rejected on a party-line vote a Democratic amendment to restore some $800 million in cuts made under the entire 2009-10 budget.

The issues were part of a broader supplemental bill for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years that is on its way to Granholm after final passage by the House (where the bill passed 91-12) and Senate. Most of the supplemental makes fund shifts, replacing state funds with federal stimulus money.

Overall, the portion of the bill for 2008-09 contains $13.6 million in new spending, but cuts general fund spending by $277.7 million. For 2009-10, the bill contains $12.6 million (all federal and restricted funds).

Among the racing programs receiving funding under the bill: Office of Racing Commissioner ($1.8 million), fairs and racing ($496,500), purses and supplements ($1 million), licensed tracks ($56,800), standardbred breeders awards ($416,700), standardbred purses and supplements ($769,400), standardbred sire stakes ($348,300), standardbred training and stabling ($15,500), thoroughbred program ($1 million), thoroughbred sire stakes ($356,900), thoroughbred owners awards ($53,300) and distribution of outstanding winners tickets ($500,000).

The bill also contains $3.85 million in funding for the new version of the wetlands regulation program now called the Land and Water Interface Program. Ms. Granholm had called for ending state control of the program and turning regulation over to the federal government, but ran into stiff legislative resistance and eventually abandoned the idea.

Senate Democrats continued their push against the $1.87 billion in cuts contained the 2009-10 fiscal year budget. Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi (D-Ishpeming) offered an amendment that would have restored some $800 million in cuts, such as $38 million for community mental health services, $375 million in Medicaid spending, $159 million to public schools, $140 million to bring back the Promise Grant college scholarship and $55 million for revenue sharing.

Prusi said Democrats have proposed several revenue-raising bills that could pay for the spending.

“I believe now is the time and now is the opportunity to take care of some of the other priorities in Michigan,” Prusi said. “If we support this amendment … it’s a restatement of our collective priorities.”

But Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the amendment would equate to $800 million in new taxes.

“We can’t afford it,” he said.

RACING IN AGRICULTURE: Michigan’s horse racing commissioner would remain a part of the Department of Agriculture under three bills passed Thursday by the Senate.

The bills (SB 955 , SB 956 , SB 957 ) would reverse the transfer of the racing commissioner to the Michigan Gaming Control Board that Granholm directed as part of EO 2009-45. The transfer was part of the broader order that also merged the departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality and would have the governor directly appoint the state’s agriculture director.

Supporters of the bill said Agriculture is a more appropriate home for the racing commissioner functions.

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