In the legislature, there are two types of committees; appropriations and policy.  When I served in the House of Representatives, I was a policy legislator and I always regretted not serving on the appropriations committee.

Policy committees are important.  The members work hard to understand an industry and those impacted by the industry.  From that hard work comes new policy ideas and the start of the process to make those ideas laws.  This is a process that we have all learned since grade school, where our teachers taught countless lessons on how a bill becomes law.

After working closely with the appropriations’ staff and committee members this term, I reflected on this new opportunity to focus on the appropriations process.  I don’t recall a teacher spending days on a lesson that taught me how a state budget comes together.  Nor did they spend days teaching how important the process is to state government.  When we open social media, or look at a newspaper, policy issues always lead the day.  As a society, an argument can be made that we place a higher value on policy issues rather than how the state spends taxpayer dollars.

Even as a legislator, I was focused on policy and there were other legislators focused on appropriations.  Therefore, I never truly appreciated the power, importance, and influence that exists in the budget.  After being immersed in the process this year, I have a very different appreciation for appropriations.  I actually consider the budget as the tail that wags the dog.  The budget is more than just appropriating dollars to departments to cover salaries and projects.  Embedded in the budget is policy, which is referred to as boilerplate language.  Boilerplate language is powerful and outlines what needs to happen for an appropriation to be dispersed.  Therefore, if you were a legislator who cared deeply about educating high school dropouts, you could draft language that accomplishes that goal.  Or, if you are adamant about ensuring every patient in Michigan has an electronic medical record that connected their physician, pharmacist, and health plan, language in an appropriations bill could accomplish that request.

Appropriations is often overlooked in general, but the budget is one of the most important pieces of legislation that is passed every year.  Be sure you know how the budget impacts you, because it does!

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