This week, the remaining conference committees reported budgets.  This momentum is needed in order for the legislature to wrap-up the budgets for the upcoming fiscal year by their self-imposed deadline of prior to the end of June.  However, House and Senate leadership are pushing for reforms to the teacher’s pension system as part of the overall budget process.  It was previously believed that Governor Rick Snyder was opposed to make any such changes to the current system and was willing to forgo completing the budgets this summer as a result.  However, there are ongoing discussions between the Speaker, Senate Majority Leader and Governor and it appears that a deal may be in the works to reform the teacher pension system as part of the budget process.  The budget target agreements between the House and Senate leave $475 million un-appropriated, which legislative leadership hopes to use for teacher pension reforms.

Now that all the conference reports have been signed, they will be sent to the House and Senate floors for final approval by a majority of the members elected and serving.  Highlights of the reports signed this week include:

Agriculture and Rural Development

• Four additional employees to implement the Federal Food Safety Modernization Act
• Funding to increase emergency preparedness and response
• Two and a half additional full time employees for the Right to Farm program

Community Colleges

• Increased funding of 1%
• Funding to improve the Michigan Transfer Network

Corrections

• $10 million reduced operation funding
• A $3.5 million reduction to the public safety initiative
• Funding for an additional 177 new corrections officers

Department of Education

• Funding for a new federal background check requirement
• A placeholder for the Drinking Water Declaration of Emergency fund
• A fiscal penalty to the department for not providing data requested by the legislature within a certain time period
• 12% increased funding to libraries

Department of Environmental Quality

• Funding to create a public affairs office to be a liaison between the public and the department
• A $100 placeholder for the Drinking Water Declaration of Emergency Reserve Fund
• $3 million for legal costs stemming from the Flint Water Crisis

General Government

• No pay-in to the state’s rainy day fund
• $6.2 million revenue sharing payment to local governments
• Constitutional revenue sharing would increase by 1.2%

Health and Human Services

• Increased funding to homeless emergency shelter per diem rates
• Authorizes $10 million of federal funding for nutrition education
• Additional funding to increase staff at juvenile justice facilitates
• Increased funding for additional psychiatric hospital staff

Higher Education

• 2% increased funding
• Tuition increase cap of 3.8%
• An increase of 43.6% to the Michigan Competitive Scholarship program
• 10% increase for the Tuition Incentive Program

Judiciary

• $815,000 to upgrade and replace courtroom video conference equipment
• $700,00 for compliance with US Supreme Court Decision regarding juvenile lifers
• Funding for five fulltime employees for the statewide electronic filing system
• $219,300 to expand problem solving courts

Natural Resources

• $4 million for repair and maintenance at state parks
• $2 million for development nonmotorized trails
• Funding for ten additional conservation officers
• One-time additional funding for invasive species prevention

School Aid

• Increased per pupil funding of $60-$120
• An additional $120 million at-risk funding

Transportation

• Increased distribution to county road commissions and cities and villages
• A reduction of 92 fulltime employees

Last week there were four budgets signed by conference committees, for highlights of those budgets please click here.

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