To provide a “template” or “place holder” for a Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Agriculture budget. This budget contains no appropriations, but these may be added later to make changes to current or future 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 316, with a budget which expresses policy differences between the Republican-majority in the Senate and Governor Jennifer Granholm on certain spending items. Among other changes, the Senate version strips 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 removes an unallocated "contingency fund" line item contained in the executive proposal for this and other departmental budgets. See Senate-passed version for details.

The Senate version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Agriculture budget. (Note: Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed budget for this department is Senate Bill 316 .) This appropriates $78.4 million in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $85.5 million, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $33.4 million will come from the general fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002 of $38.4 million. 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.

The House version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003-2004 Department of Agriculture budget. (Note: Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed budget for this department is Senate Bill 316 .) This appropriates $89.9 million in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $85.5 million, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $33.6 million will come from the general fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002 of $38.4 million. The House version appropriates $2.6 million in potential gambling revenue from the seven new racetrack casinos (“racinos”) authorized by House Bill 4610, which would go to market development, bovine TB, migrant housing, local conservation district, and Future Farmers of America programs. It also contains $7.25 million additional federal money for emerald ash borer insect control. 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 Department of Agriculture budget. This appropriates $86.3 million in adjusted gross spending (funded from all sources, including special state restricted fund and federal pass-through dollars, minus interdepartmental transfers), compared to $85.5 million, which was the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002, excluding any supplemental appropriations, line-item vetoes, or later cuts. Of this, $31.4 million will come from the general fund (funded by actual state tax revenues), compared to the FY 2002-2003 amount enrolled in 2002 of $38.4 million. General Fund appropriations in the conference report are not increased above the amount originally recommended by the governor. Much of the increase in gross spending is federal money for controlling the Emerald Ash Borer pest. Much more information on Michigan’s budget is available at Hot Topics: Michigan’s Budget Challenge at www.mackinac.org/4964.