LANSING – A supplemental bill that included no general fund money when the Senate passed it ballooned to $327 million written from the state’s main checkbook as the House approved the bill Wednesday.
The bill (SB 334 ) cleared the House on a mostly party-line vote as minority Republicans objected to Democrats discharging the bill from the Appropriations Committee without debate and criticized it as irresponsible spending.
The supplemental totals $451 million, but most of the general fund spending is for the Department of Community Health, including more than $315 million for increased Medicaid caseloads and conversion of the quality assurance assessment program revenue to a use tax.
Another $20 million of general funds would pay for increased paroles within the Department of Corrections.
Boilerplate was also added to the bill to require a cost-benefit analysis and report to the Legislature before the department engages in privatizing any services, except for what it is already doing with prison mental health services. And the boilerplate requires corrections employees to be allowed to bid for their jobs.
While the Department of Human Services would see a $9.7 million general fund cut under the supplemental, the bill reflects increased family independence program caseloads totaling $10.9 million.
Day care service caseloads are down, reflected in a $27 million general fund cut for that program.
The House Fiscal Agency analysis notes the supplemental doesn’t include $1 billion in pending federal stimulus funding, including the $863.6 million that would offset the general funds distributed to the departments of Community Health and Human Services.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
a>>
