To provide a “template” or “place holder” for a Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Family Independence Agency budget. This budget contains no appropriations, but these may be added later to make changes to current or future departmental appropriations.   Official Text and Analysis.

With the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.

To replace the executive proposal for this budget, contained in Senate Bill 308, 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.

To strip out a provision barring the department from using funds to place messages related to social services on billboards. The federal government provides money for this, and the governor had proposed continuing the practice, which the previous administration had also authorized.

The Senate version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Family Independence Agency budget (welfare). (The executive recommendation for this budget is contained in Senate Bill 308.) This would appropriate $3.944 billion in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $4.070 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $1.102 billion would come from the General Fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the current year's $1.173 billion. The Senate restored language contained in previous years, but removed from the executive proposal, prohibiting the department from disqualifying faith-based organizations otherwise able to apply and compete for services, programs, or contracts solely on the basis of their ecclesiastical nature, guiding principles or statements of faith. It also stripped out an administration proposal to allow the department to keep half of any appropriations not been spent at the end of the year as an incentive to cut costs, rather than having the funds lapse into the general fund, and also an unallocated "contingency fund" appropriation contained in the executive proposal for this and other departmental budgets. Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964.

With the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.

To replace the Senate version of this budget with a House version which expresses policy differences between the bodies on certain spending items. See House-passed version for details.

To establish that it is the intent of the legislature that the department should convene a meeting of the Department of Corrections, judges, prosecutors, counties and appropriate private agencies, to recommend criteria for the placement of youth offenders.

To appropriate $2 million of an expected federal rebate of penalties paid due to not having a centralized child support computer system to the “Amer-I-Can” program in Detroit, and $500,000 to the program in Grand Rapids. The “Amer-I-Can” program is intended to teach “life skills” such as goal-setting, problem-solving, anger management, and emotional control to disadvantaged youth in high schools.

The House version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Family Independence Agency budget (welfare). (The executive recommendation for this budget is contained in Senate Bill 308.) This would appropriate $3.949 billion in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $4.070 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $1.102 billion would come from the General Fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the current year's $1.173 billion. The House version is very similar to the Senate version, except it adds $4.5 million for higher than expected welfare caseloads. Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964.

To concur with a House-passed version of the bill. The vote sends the bill to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences.

The House-Senate conference report for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Family Independence Agency budget (welfare). (The executive recommendation for this budget is contained in Senate Bill 308.) This would appropriate $3.959 billion in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $4.070 billion, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $1.133 billion would come from the General Fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the current year's $1.173 billion. General Fund appropriations in the conference report are $30 million above the amount recommended by the governor, most of which is for higher than expected welfare caseloads. Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964.