Public Act 127 of 2007

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• Introduced by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on February 21, 2007, to provide the “template” or “place holder” for a Senate Republican version of a Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Attorney General, Civil Rights Department, Civil Service Department, Executive, Legislature, Department of Management and Budget, Department of State, Department of Information Technology, and Department of Treasury. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them. Note: The governor's proposed budget is contained in Senate Bill 252, and is premised on the legislature adopting a 2 percent tax on services which along with other tax increases and a proposed reduction in business taxes represents a net tax hike of approximately $1 billion.
  • Referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 21, 2007.
    • Reported in the Senate on May 1, 2007, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the Senate on August 22, 2007, to adopt a version of this budget that expresses spending level and policy differences between the Republican-majority in the Senate and Governor Jennifer Granholm on certain spending items and funding sources. See Senate-passed version for more, and for details see the Senate Fiscal Agency analysis (link available through the “Text and Analysis” tab at the top of this bill’s MichiganVotes page). Amendments offered by Senators Kahn and Richardville, respectively, were adopted in the “Committee of the Whole” without record roll call votes to prohibit the Secretary of State from closing a branch office in Buena Vista Township (Genesee County) and one in the town of Milan. The amendments went further, to prohibit the Secretary of State, who plans to close nine branches in 2007 as a cost saving measure, from closing any branch open as of Aug. 1, 2007. Language was also added establishing a firmer state government hiring freeze, following reports of thousands of new hires under an existing “freeze,” but this would not apply to the Secretary of State or Attorney General offices, which are headed by Republican elected officials. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on August 22, 2007.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Glenn Anderson (D) on August 22, 2007. The amendment failed 17 to 21 in the Senate on August 22, 2007.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Passed 21 to 17 in the Senate on August 22, 2007, the Senate version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007-2008 General Government budget, which funds the Attorney General, Civil Rights Department, Civil Service Department, Executive, Legislature, Department of Management and Budget, Department of State, Department of Information Technology, and Department of Treasury. This appropriates $2.896 billion in gross spending, compared to $2.913 billion, which was the FY 2006-2007 amount enrolled in 2006, and $3.172 billion proposed by Gov. Granholm (see Senate Bill 252). Of this, $620.0 million will come from the general fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2006-2007 amount of $607.3 million. Another $1.598 billion is from "restricted funds," or earmarked tax and fee revenue, compared to $1.658 billion the previous year. $1.086 billion of this budget is paid out in revenue sharing to local governments, compared to $1.107 billion the previous year. Like other Senate budgets this one would require the department to reduce administrative costs by 1.2 percent, but it exempts the Secretary of State and Attorney General from this provision.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Moved to reconsider by Sen. Alan L. Cropsey (R) on August 22, 2007, the vote by which the following bill was passed.
  • Withdrawn in the Senate on August 22, 2007, the motion to reconsider the final passage vote.
• Received in the House on August 23, 2007.
  • Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on August 23, 2007.
    • Reported in the House on September 6, 2007, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the House on September 15, 2007, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that reflects the budget preferences of the House Democrats. This was defeated only to allow consideration of the Tobocman substitute. The substitute failed by voice vote in the House on September 15, 2007.
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Daniel Acciavatti (R) on September 15, 2007.
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Steve Tobocman (D) on September 15, 2007, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that replicates in bill form the list prepared by Senate Fiscal Agency Gary Olson of $1.5 billion in cuts to various line items, assuming no efficiency-generating reforms or changes in how any government programs operate. The substitue is not a "proper" bill (because it proposes "cuts" in apppropriations that don't exist yet), and was offered as a political maneuver in the midst of an (unsuccessful) four-day attempt to get Republicans to vote for House Bill 5294, which would raise the state income tax from 3.9 percent to 4.6 percent. The substitute failed 0 to 105 in the House on September 15, 2007.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Daniel Acciavatti (R) on September 24, 2007, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that spends approximately the same as the previous fiscal year, and also would change the way the non-Constitutionally mandated portion of revenue sharing is distributed by adopting a per-capita distribution formula. The substitute would also tie-bar the bill to House Bill 4505, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. HB 4505 would require the expiration date of a drivers license issued to a non-citizen to be the same as the date on which his or her presence in the U.S. becomes illegal. Note: Most representatives voting on this subsititute knew that it would be replaced by the Tobocman substitute that essentially "zeroed out" the budget to move the process forward. The substitute passed 60 to 49 in the House on September 24, 2007.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Terry Brown (D) on September 24, 2007, to establish the revenue sharing payments to Tuscola County at $113,600. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on September 24, 2007.
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Steve Tobocman (D) on September 24, 2007, to adopt a version of the bill that essentially strips out all of the appropriations of the previous version, which is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on September 24, 2007.
• Passed 58 to 51 in the House on September 24, 2007, to send the 2007-2008 General Government back to the Senate "stripped" of all actual appropriations, and $100 “placeholders” in their place. These and some changes in the remaining “boilerplate” language prescribing policies the department must follow establish “points of difference” with the Senate version, the presence of which makes them subjects for negotiation between the bodies. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the Senate on September 25, 2007. Failed 0 to 38 in the Senate on September 25, 2007.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the House on September 25, 2007.
• Passed 83 to 25 in the House on October 31, 2007, the House-Senate conference report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007-2008 General Government budget, which funds the Attorney General, Civil Rights Department, Civil Service Department, Executive, Legislature, Department of Management and Budget, Department of State, Department of Information Technology, Michigan Strategic Fund and Department of Treasury. This appropriates $3.123 billion in gross spending, compared to $2.913 billion, which was the FY 2006-2007 amount enrolled in 2006, and $3.172 billion proposed by Gov. Granholm (see Senate Bill 252). Of this, $660.9 million will come from the general fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2006-2007 amount of $607.3 million. Another $1.703 billion is from "restricted funds," or earmarked tax and fee revenue, compared to $1.658 billion the previous year. $1.072 billion of this budget is paid out in revenue sharing to local governments, compared to $1.107 billion the previous year.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the Senate on September 26, 2007.
• Passed 29 to 8 in the Senate on October 31, 2007, the House-Senate conference report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007-2008 General Government budget, which funds the Attorney General, Civil Rights Department, Civil Service Department, Executive, Legislature, Department of Management and Budget, Department of State, Department of Information Technology, Michigan Strategic Fund and Department of Treasury. This appropriates $3.123 billion in gross spending, compared to $2.913 billion, which was the FY 2006-2007 amount enrolled in 2006, and $3.172 billion proposed by Gov. Granholm (see Senate Bill 252). Of this, $660.9 million will come from the general fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2006-2007 amount of $607.3 million. Another $1.703 billion is from "restricted funds," or earmarked tax and fee revenue, compared to $1.658 billion the previous year. $1.072 billion of this budget is paid out in revenue sharing to local governments, compared to $1.107 billion the previous year.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Signed with line-item veto by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on October 31, 2007.