LANSING – The signed framework for
the 2015-16 fiscal year will leave an unusually large number of major items for
Michigan House-Senate conference committees to resolve, but points toward
reductions at the Department of Talent and Economic Development as well as the
human services portion of the Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the thinnest target agreement
in memory in the sense that Governor Rick Snyder and Republican legislative
leaders resolved far fewer top issues than usual. And, in a departure from a
years-long tradition, officials refused to make public the target agreement,
although Gongwer News Service obtained a copy.
As Gongwer News Service first
reported, the budget will contain a $400 million General Fund commitment to
roads. And it will increase funding for university operations by 1.5 percent
with universities limited to increasing tuition by no more than 2.8 percent to
receive that additional funding.
The film incentive, funded in recent
years at $50 million (and $38 million for the current year), would fall to $25
million. Snyder had proposed $50 million, while the House had proposed
eliminating the program entirely.
A dispute over $5.8 million in
revenue sharing funds would be resolved by ensuring no funding cut to any
municipality, although details were still sketchy.
Both the House and Senate passed
substantial cuts to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s business
attraction programs, and based on the target agreement containing $25.4 million
less for the Department of Talent and Economic Development than what Snyder
proposed, it appears a substantial cut is coming there.
The target agreement sets General
Fund spending for human services at $942.2 million – about $20 million less
than what Snyder recommended, $31 million less than what the Senate passed and
$26 million less than what the House passed. Sources indicated this smaller
number was not a reflection of caseloads, but would result in less spending on
programs than might have been expected. The question of whether the Maxey
Training School will remain open has yet to be resolved.
The agreement also backs Snyder’s
request to deposit $95 million into the Budget Stabilization Fund.
Several other key items, like per
pupil spending in K-12 schools and the formula through which those funds would
be allocated, remained unclear Wednesday evening. The fate of the $100 million
in additional money for at-risk students and $75 million for distressed school
districts that Snyder proposed – and the Republican-led Legislature clearly
disdained – also was unclear.
Another major question is what will
happen to Graduate Medical Education. Snyder proposed ending General Fund
support for the program and instead having hospitals put up the funding (which
they would recoup through federal matching funds). The House supported that
proposal while the Senate did not.
Snyder, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) and
House Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant) all said
in a statement that education would receive additional funding although it was
unclear Wednesday how much or through what mechanisms.
“By increasing our investment
in our infrastructure and education, we’re investing in Michigan’s
future,” Snyder said. “This is essential work to keep our economy
growing stronger and improving the quality of life for all Michiganders. I am
pleased with how quickly the process has moved along, and I think this is a
testament to the strong working relationship we have with our legislative
partners.”
On roads, a joint statement from the
three men said they would work through the summer for a long-term solution. The
$400 million for roads from the General Fund is up from the $139.5 million that
Snyder recommended and the House and Senate passed, an amount necessary to
ensure the state got its full federal match. The state put $284.7 million from
the General Fund into roads for the current 2014-15 fiscal year.
Meekhof said the budget prioritizes
roads, education, public safety and the most vulnerable.
“As a result, some areas of the
budget will see increases, while others will experience a reduction in
funding,” he said.
