Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on February 11, 2004, the House version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2004-2005 Department of History, Arts and Libraries budget. (Note: Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed budget for this department is House Bill 5609 .) This appropriates $58.6 million in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $56.9 million, which was the FY 2003-2004 amount enrolled in 2003. Of this, $47.4 million will come from the general fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2003-2004 amount of $44.7 million. The House version authorizes the same level of spending that the governor recommended. Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964

The vote was 96 in favor, 11 opposed and 2 not voting

(House Roll Call 200 at House Journal 28)

Click here to view bill details.

Rep. Hunter, having reserved the right to explain his nay vote, made the following statement: "Mr. Speaker and members of the House: I voted no for the conference report of HB 5519, the History, Arts and Library (HAL) Budget because it is bad public policy. There is a pervasive, misguided sentiment that taking away from Detroit will benefit other communities in the state. This sentiment is illustrated in the HAL budget by removing all funding for the Detroit Public Library (DPL). Sadly, my colleagues who voted for HB 5519 do not realize that there are components of the DPL that can not be duplicated. Items from the National Automotive History Collection and the Great Lakes Patent and Trademark Center are loaned to other libraries in the state. When DPL has been cut in the past by the state, fees were levied to the non-Detroit residents. If the budget is signed into law, this trend will continue and people from outside my hometown will a pay higher to gather objects from these irreplaceable collections. My ill-advised contemporaries thought that they were beating up on the state's largest city when in reality they were hampering the flow of information to their own constituents."

Rep. Waters, having reserved the right to explain her nay vote, made the following statement: "Mr. Speaker and members of the House: I voted no on the conference report for HB 5519, the History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) Budget, because it is bad public policy. There is a pervasive, misguided sentiment in the Legislature that taking away from Detroit will benefit other communities in the state. This sentiment is illustrated in the HAL budget by its removal of all funding for the Detroit Public Library (DPL). There are components of the DPL that cannot be duplicated. Items from the National Automotive History Collection and the Great Lakes Patent and Trademark Center are loaned to other libraries in the state. Furthermore, when DPL funding has in the past been cut by the state, fees were charged to non-Detroit residents. If this budget is signed into law, this trend will continue. This is another case in which attempts by the Legislature to beat up on the state's largest city will have a ripple effect across the state, and hamper the flow of information to all Michigan residents."

Rep. Hood, having reserved the right to explain his nay vote, made the following statement: "Mr. Speaker and members of the House: I voted no for the conference report of HB 5519, the History, Arts and Library (HAL) Budget because it removes all funding for the Detroit Public Library (DPL). The DPL offers information and services to not only city residents, but to citizens throughout the state. Items from the National Automotive History Collection and the Great Lakes Patent and Trademark Center are only two examples of the materials on loan to other libraries in the state of Michigan. The DPL has suffered budget cuts in the past by the state, and as a result has been forced to impose fees on non-Detroit residents who use its services. It is my feeling that the Detroit Public Library and its vast, irreplaceable resources should be preserved for everyone to avail themselves of free of charge. This budget threatens the very existence of the Detroit Public Library, and thus I cannot support it."