2003 House Bill 4392 - Michigan Votes

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2003 House Bill 4392

Public Act 159 of 2003

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Introduced by Rep. Marc Shulman (R) on March 18, 2003, to provide a “template” or “place holder” for a Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Community Health budget. This budget contains no appropriations, but these may be added later to make changes to current or future appropriations.
- Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on March 18, 2003.
  - Reported in the House on April 2, 2003, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the House on April 3, 2003, to replace the previous version of the bill with the House version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Community Health budget. See House-passed version for details. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on April 3, 2003.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on April 3, 2003, to replace a $60 million transfer to this budget from the tobacco lawsuit settlement fund, which the bill would replace with General Fund dollars. The tobacco money is currently used to fund the $2,500 Merit Award college scholarship program. Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed reducing the scholarships to $500, and using the savings to fund this budget. The amendment failed in the House (45 to 62) on April 3, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
Passed in the House (63 to 44) on April 3, 2003, the House version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Community Health budget. This appropriates $9.078 billion in gross spending (funded from all sources, including state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars), compared to $9.730 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount passed by the legislature in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $2.648 billion will come from the General Fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the amount enrolled in 2002 of $2.477 billion. The House struck out a $60 million transfer from the tobacco lawsuit settlement fund, replacing this with General Fund dollars. The tobacco money is currently used to fund the $2,500 Merit Award college scholarship program. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has proposed reducing the scholarships to $500 and using the savings to fund this budget. (Note: Gov. Granholm’s proposed budget for this department is House Bill 4413 .)Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on April 22, 2003.
- Referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 22, 2003.
  - Reported in the Senate on June 17, 2003, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the Senate on June 17, 2003, to replace the House version of this budget with a Senate version which expresses policy differences between the bodies on certain spending items. See Senate-passed version for details. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on June 17, 2003.
- Amendment offered by Sen. Deborah Cherry (D) on June 17, 2003, to transfer $60 million from the tobacco lawsuit settlement fund to this budget, replacing General Fund dollars now used in the budget. The tobacco money is currently used to fund the $2,500 Merit Award college scholarship program. Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed reducing the scholarships to $500 and using the savings to fund this budget, but the House and Senate versions of this budget do not include the tobacco money transfer. The amendment failed in the Senate (16 to 22) on June 17, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
- Amendment offered by Sen. Bill Hardiman (R) on June 17, 2003, to appropriate funding for the "Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly" (PACE) in Kent, Barry, and Ionia counties, contingent on the availability of certain federal money. The program provides managed care benefits for the frail elderly, provided by a not-for-profit agency. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on June 17, 2003.
Passed in the Senate (38 to 0) on June 17, 2003, the Senate version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Community Health budget. This appropriates $9.146 billion in gross spending (funded from all sources, including state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars), compared to $9.730 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount passed by the legislature in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $2.583 billion will come from the General Fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002 of $2.477 billion. The Senate and the House versions both strike out a $60 million transfer to this budget from the tobacco lawsuit settlement fund, replacing this with General Fund dollars. The tobacco money is currently used to fund the $2,500 Merit Award college scholarship program. Gov. Jennifer Granholm had proposed reducing the scholarships to $500 and using the savings to fund this budget. The SeMuch more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the House on June 19, 2003.
Failed in the House (1 to 101) on June 19, 2003, to concur with a Senate-passed version of the bill. The vote sends the bill to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on June 24, 2003.
Passed in the Senate (37 to 0) on July 16, 2003, the House-Senate conference report for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Community Health budget. This appropriates $9.417 billion in gross spending (funded from all sources, including state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars), compared to $9.730 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount passed by the legislature in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $2.561 billion will come from the General Fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002 of $2.477 billion. The conference report does not include a $60 million transfer to this budget from the Merit Award scholarships. It does contain a $50 million in federal money for the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), which is on the verge of bankruptcy, and a $59 million increase in state mental health programs the governor had recommended. Gross spending in the conference report is $369 million above the amount originally recommended by the governor, and General Fund spending is $22 million less, most of which is due to federal Medicaid money sent to the states as part of the 2003 Bush tax cut deal. Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the House on June 24, 2003.
Passed in the House (106 to 2) on July 16, 2003, the House-Senate conference report for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Community Health budget. This appropriates $9.417 billion in gross spending (funded from all sources, including state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars), compared to $9.730 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount passed by the legislature in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $2.561 billion will come from the General Fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002 of $2.477 billion. The conference report does not include a $60 million transfer to this budget from the Merit Award scholarships. It does contain a $50 million in federal money for the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), which is on the verge of bankruptcy, and a $59 million increase in state mental health programs the governor had recommended. Gross spending in the conference report is $369 million above the amount originally recommended by the governor, and General Fund spending is $22 million less, most of which is due to federal Medicaid money sent to the states as part of the 2003 Bush tax cut deal. Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the House on August 13, 2003.
- Referred by Rep. Randy Richardville (R) on August 13, 2003.
Signed with line-item veto by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on August 13, 2003.

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1) Rep. Bieda's "no vote explanation" [by Admin003 on April 11, 2003]
Rep. Bieda, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:
"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:
It is with deep disappointment at the fiscal irresponsibility of this legislative body that I feel compelled to vote
against this bill. We are Constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget. This bill contains a $60 million dollar hole with no provisions for funding. Our constituents demand fiscal accountability. We cannot engage in ENRON style accounting practices, merrily spending money we do not have, that does not exist elsewhere, and with no serious plans,
proposals or even ideas from where to draw this money. When a boat is taking on water, you don't drill more holes in it. This bill relies on phantom dollars, and seriously jeopardizes health care in this state by continuing a structural deficit that has resulted in a nearly $2 billion shortfall. Purposely writing a check that bounces is a crime in this state.
Here, this legislature is essentially doing the same thing. We owe it to our communities to honestly address the budget mess. HB 4392 as passed by the House is a seriously flawed and perhaps devious attempt to undermine and destroy
health care programs that our citizens rely and depend on. Understanding that this is but a first step in the budget
process, I hope that this legislature gets its act together and can pass a balanced budget that honestly addresses the
concerns of the people of this state. I trust that we will."
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2) Rep. Condino's "no vote explanation" [by Admin003 on April 11, 2003]
Rep. Condino, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following
statement:
"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:
I voted no on HB4392 as this bill creates a $60 million dollar budget "hole" that would "gut" funding to those most served by medical and health care services in our state. It would violate my oath of office to support a budget bill which
creates an unbalanced budget while putting our seniors and indigents at risk of further losing the health care services they are most in need of. I am very supportive of negotiating ways of preserving merit scholarship funding, but not
jeopardizing health care to the poor and disabled."
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3) Rep. Meisner's "no vote explanation" [by Admin003 on April 11, 2003]
Rep. Meisner, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following
statement:
"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:
It is with some regret that I cast a no vote on HB 4392, a bill to provide funding for the State of Michigan's Department of Community Health. This is the department responsible for many of state government's most important functions, including the Elder Prescription Drug Insurance Coverage Program, the provision of healthcare services for children and senior citizens, and essential programs to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment services for the most vulnerable among us. The basis for my regret is that despite the great value of items in this budget, including a well-deserved increase in funding for innovative drug treatment courts, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have put these programs into severe jeopardy by suggesting that we continue down the path of fiscal irresponsibility
that has put our state's budget into the mess we face today. My Republican colleagues would have us pass a bill that is $60 million out of balance. This in response to the proposal put forth by Governor Granholm, which balances our
budget and puts us—for the first time in twelve years—on the path towards good fiscal health and responsible fiscal stewardship. Once again I must call on the wisdom of my colleagues in the Senate to fix the mess created by the House.
The people of Michigan deserve better than this."
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