2003 Senate Bill 265 - Michigan Votes

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2003 Senate Bill 265

Public Act 162 of 2003

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Introduced by Sen. Shirley Johnson (R) on March 6, 2003, to provide a “template” or “place holder” for a Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Transportation budget. This budget contains no appropriations, but these may be added later to make changes to current or future departmental appropriations.
- Referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 6, 2003.
  - Reported in the Senate on May 6, 2003, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the Senate on May 8, 2003, to replace the executive proposal for this budget, contained in Senate Bill 315, with a budget which expresses policy differences between the Republican-majority in the Senate and Governor Jennifer Granholm on certain spending items. See Senate-passed version for details. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on May 8, 2003.
- Amendment offered by Sen. Michael Prusi (D) on May 8, 2003, to prohibit appropriations to the Bureau of Planning from being used to subsidize planning activities associated with local public transit agencies. The amendment failed in the Senate (16 to 22) on May 8, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
- Amendment offered by Sen. Burton Leland (D) on May 8, 2003, to add $38.9 million that would come from an increase in the diesel tax proposed by Senate Bill 387. The amendment failed in the Senate (16 to 22) on May 8, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
- Amendment offered by Sen. Burton Leland (D) on May 8, 2003, to remove a provision which prohibits expending funds for start-up costs associated with the Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority (DARTA) proposed by House Bill 4072 and Senate Bill 100. The amendment failed in the Senate by voice vote on May 8, 2003.
- Amendment offered by Sen. Martha G. Scott (D) on May 8, 2003, to add $10.9 million for Detroit and suburban public transportation operating subsidies, and eliminate a provision which prohibits their regional transit coordinating council from receiving more than the minimum funding required by law. The amendment failed in the Senate (16 to 22) on May 8, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
- Amendment offered by Sen. Michael Prusi (D) on May 8, 2003, to require that $16 million from the comprehensive transportation fund, which pays for public transportation system subsidies, be transferred to the general fund at year's end to offset reductions in interdpartmental grants from the Department of Transportation to the Secretary of State. The amendment failed in the Senate (16 to 22) on May 8, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
Passed in the Senate (24 to 14) on May 8, 2003, the Senate version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Transportation budget. (Note: Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed budget for this department is Senate Bill 315 .) This appropriates $3.155 billion in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $3.125 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Most of this revenue comes from either state fuel taxes, license fees, or federal transfers. Among other changes, the Senate budget contains funding that could lead to the reinstatement of 34 road expansion projects that Gov. Jennifer Granholm had postponed as part of her “Fix it First” program, which places a higher priority on repairing existing roads. 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 May 8, 2003.
- Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on May 8, 2003.
- Substitute offered by Rep. Scott Shackleton (R) on July 17, 2003, to replace the Senate version of this budget with a House version which embodies a compromise agreement between the House, Senate, and governor on transportation spending priorities. See House-passed version for details. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on July 17, 2003.
- Substitute offered in the House on July 17, 2003, to replace the Senate version of this budget with a House version which embodies a compromise agreement between the House, Senate, and governor on transportation spending priorities. See House-passed version for details. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on July 17, 2003.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Scott Shackleton (R) on July 17, 2003, to add $200,000 in start up money for the Detroit Area Regional Transit Authority (DARTA). The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on July 17, 2003.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Jacob Hoogendyk, Jr. (R) on July 17, 2003, to eliminate an increase in the annual subsidy to Amtrak which will bring the total from $5.7 million to $7.1 million. The amendment failed in the House (31 to 76) on July 17, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
Passed in the House (107 to 0) on July 17, 2003, the House-version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 (Note: Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed budget for this department is Senate Bill 315 .) This appropriates $3.136 billion in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $3.125 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Most of this revenue comes from either state fuel taxes, license fees, or federal transfers. Among other items, the budget reflects a compromise on 17 of 34 road expansion projects that Gov. Jennifer Granholm had postponed as part of her “Fix it First” program, which places a higher priority on repairing existing roads. It also includes $200,000 in start up money for the Detroit Area Regional Transit Authority (DARTA). Spending levels for public transportation are those originally proposed by the governor, rather than the much lower levels passed by the Senate. A subsidy to Amtrak will increase from $5.7 million to $7.1 million. 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 May 8, 2003.
- Amendment offered by Sen. Ken Sikkema (R) on May 8, 2003, to add $1.5 million in funding that could lead to the reinstatement of 34 road expansion projects that Gov. Jennifer Granholm had postponed as part of her “Fix it First” program, which places a higher priority on repairing existing roads. The money is taken from interdpartmental grants to the Department of Treasury, and the Department of Management and Budget. The amendment passed in the Senate (25 to 13) on May 8, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
Passed in the Senate (24 to 14) on May 8, 2003. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on July 17, 2003.
Passed in the Senate (29 to 2) on July 17, 2003, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on July 17, 2003.
Signed with line-item veto by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on August 11, 2003.

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1) Sen. Thomas' jounal comment [by Admin003 on May 9, 2003]
Senator Thomas' statement is as follows:

I just wanted to respond to the distinguished chair of the Appropriations Committee and agree with her. She is absolutely right. We should not continue to fund inefficiency. We should not continue to fund failure. That's why many of us in the chamber are urging passage of DARTA in creating a new regional, cooperative system. I would hope that given the statements that she and others have made today that we can renew that imperative for DARTA. Let's end the systems that we have. Let's end the competition and the bickering between the competing systems and create a system. Hopefully, I don't know about my other colleagues on this side, if to get DARTA going we have to have opt-out language, let's have opt-out language. Let's move the process forward with opt out, without opt out, so that our local units can come together. If we will stop the bickering in Lansing, they will stop the bickering back home and start the planning. So I would hope that folks would support the Scott amendment. I would hope that folks would support the House-passed legislation if that is what it takes. Let's stop the inefficiencies that exists here in Michigan. Let's fund mass transit appropriately.
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2) Sen. Garcia's journal comment [by Admin003 on May 9, 2003]
Senator Garcia's statement is as follows:

If we want to get serious, we need to pass the budget with these 34 projects in it. What the Governor proposed is not a pause. It's a significant delay that's going to have a serious impact on the constituents of my district. It's going to impact their safety, health, and welfare, and to say that it is a minor pause, I think, is incorrect. I'd like to point out to the body that the Governor herself told us before the Appropriations Committee that her program was essentially the same thing as the previous administration. When I asked her, and asked her twice, she said, "Yes, it's essentially the same thing." Her director, by doing this, has gone back on the intent of what the Governor planned, and it's seriously affecting my constituents. That's why I urge the body to make sure these 34 projects are in there, and we are being serious because we need these projects to continue in the orderly, planned manner in which they were planned and started.
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3) Sen. Scott's jounal comment [by Admin003 on May 9, 2003]
Senator Scott's statement is as follows:

My amendment would eliminate the language capping the regional transit coordinating council at the statutory minimum; or in other words, an $11 million direct cut to DDOT and SMART. Essentially, this would cut funding to the bus agencies that serve nearly 50 percent of the state's population. It would also restore bus operating line items to $160 million, thus holding other urban public transit providers harmless.

You know, it is nice to work on the transportation budget, but in these fiscal times, the total transportation budget has increased by approximately three percent. Unfortunately, public transit funding has taken a cut. Public transit should not be a second-class citizen in this budget. Local public transit agencies are facing the same crisis with increasing costs for fuel, health care, and liability insurance as local governments and private corporations. Reducing their funding will mean a reduction in service. It was stated that there was a millage of $23 million. But that was not for DARTA. That was just for SMART.

It is so important that we have good public transportation in the Detroit area. If anything, we need more than the $11 million so we can make that transportation for all riders. If, in the urban areas, we had proper transportation, not as many people would go without car insurance because they can't afford it. It is just too expensive. If there was good transportation, you'd have the best ridership there is.

I ask my colleagues to support this bill so that we can restore to the Governor's budget this $11 million for DDOT which is so needed in the Detroit area, so that the workers--some were on public assistance, and now they are off public assistance trying to get out to the suburban areas for work. It was stated earlier how long it takes someone to get to these jobs. Some of these riders have to take three buses, get up at ungodly hours, and then they have high babysitting bills. We don't want to pay the babysitting bills. We don't want to get DDOT a mass transit system. What do we want? Please restore the $11 million to this budget.
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