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Senator Santana moved to approve the minutes from the subcommittee meeting held Feb. 25, 2025; the motion carried without objection. Senator Santana then moved to approve the minutes from the meeting held March 4, 2025; the minutes were approved without objection.

Nut graf: Both actions were routine motions to adopt the record of prior meetings and were accepted by unanimous consent; no roll‑call votes or recorded tallies were requested by members.

Ending: Approval of the minutes occurred early in the agenda; the subcommittee proceeded to hear testimony from state agencies and outside presenters.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Appropriations Sub - LARA/DIFS 25-03-11","oneSentenceSummary","During the session the subcommittee approved minutes for meetings held Feb. 25 and March 4, 2025; both motions were made by Senator Santana and adopted without objection.","taxTitle","Appropriations, 2025 Senate Legislature MI, Michigan","taxId",79407,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6286939,"University of Michigan juvenile justice clinic outlines $1 million pilot to provide counsel at first appearance and embedded social‑work support",1108,3738000,4846000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2555836-463cce22276d3f0fd698dfae2874362c&start=3738&end=4846","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2555836-463cce22276d3f0fd698dfae2874362c/thumbnail_3738000.jpg","/articles/6286939/Michigan/University-of-Michigan-juvenile-justice-clinic-outlines-1-million-pilot-to-provide-counsel-at-first-appearance-and-embedded-socialwork-support","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6286939-b851148cea457f7b458985bb0003931c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771061621&Signature=RbOxT-J8c~BKk~aOrXvttS-CCatbHCbaq1i9s5jgPfst3J39P9HVxhVIYZT9UXrpC5rETX9YSKJXr31~RM7TDzBXO69c-SUfvLmomqZbj7xfhHgKd-J~hdPSpgmL62kKrPjrMQRHlZV25ZJYwjFtdWh0jouTiUOEcG6SuI49fHCSrwifYJ15SrXaHL0X6DjwBItH6Pq1xv7qe8Cn~~cCMaIVwH52vA3CFU3GzYc9VmlyvkdmB~Wef2FgXHRzfLAO295BOQ7WAzIVan4z4sfE-K4BGcNEIDfI8VD0o0u7h9I9KrnHTaLy32OqL8Wsqeo26k089y00722-gKNfvpNpmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The University of Michigan Juvenile Justice Clinic (JJC) presented its plan to use a $1,000,000 appropriation to pilot two initiatives: (1) counsel at first appearance for juveniles in selected counties and (2) an embedded social‑work support pilot to provide non‑attorney services and referrals as part of holistic defense.

“I'm the director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic,” said Mira Edmonds, explaining the clinic will deploy law‑student clinicians supervised by licensed attorneys to represent juveniles at initial court appearances in counties where youth otherwise lack counsel at that stage. The clinic said it will do warm handoffs to continuing counsel and partner with local courts to adapt the model to local practice variations.

Nut graf: JJC designed the pilots to amplify impact — providing direct representation where coverage is missing and building data and training capacity so its approaches can inform statewide juvenile defense improvements and potential expansion of MIDC standards to youth defenders.

The counsel‑at‑first‑appearance pilot is modeled on an adult pilot in Huron County and will be adapted to juvenile proceedings. JJC is working most closely with Eaton County, where Judge Amanda Pollard and court administrators have participated in planning. The clinic is partnering with the Youth Policy Lab at the University of Michigan to conduct a mixed‑methods pre/post evaluation using court administrative data, youth and parent surveys, and stakeholder interviews to measure effects on detention, probation conditions and court efficiency.

The embedded social‑work support pilot would hire a social worker to be part of the clinic staff. That person would provide social‑work services to clinic clients, assist and train student attorneys on child‑centered interviewing and advocacy, make referrals for social services, and help identify and fund expert evaluations when needed.

Edmonds noted constraints in the appropriation language: funds are limited to juveniles charged with felonies, which restricts the number of cases the project can serve even though juvenile court authority to supervise youth often overlaps regardless of offense severity. JJC said it hopes to begin representation in summer or fall 2025 and to have the social‑work hire in place in August or September 2025.

Ending: Edmonds said the pilot is intended as a demonstration project that, if successful, could inform broader efforts to extend MIDC standards, training and infrastructure to juvenile defense statewide.","Mira Edmonds of the University of Michigan Law School described two pilot projects funded by a $1 million appropriation: a counsel‑at‑first‑appearance pilot for juveniles and an embedded social‑work support pilot, both designed to improve representation and collect outcomes data.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6286944,"Michigan Indigent Defense Commission seeks flat grant funding of $258.3 million and four operations FTEs to oversee grants and standards",1557,1675000,3232000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2555836-463cce22276d3f0fd698dfae2874362c&start=1675&end=3232","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2555836-463cce22276d3f0fd698dfae2874362c/thumbnail_1675000.jpg","/articles/6286944/Michigan/Michigan-Indigent-Defense-Commission-seeks-flat-grant-funding-of-2583-million-and-four-operations-FTEs-to-oversee-grants-and-standards","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6286944-8976df9947ba0c7c83e4faa20d71c342/orig.mp4?Expires=1771061621&Signature=fYVMpCZPAYGttNOHqYH5sEfl8JIeNFa74mOAj4r1LlOkymgl6gc5XCbOWEXDN44qicHEPeUQPVzfhT9166--uMp90H5rhopZ9C87a9i137w7GEY4ggcHm-RHxSeRgzMbDkgi3wY37d7Hu76XpWs1T1rq5BJOFlS2XKNTuRjjvscgVXQqSgYHr38OFU2qPyTvT1ZO7KibAnPHfFFkk-N3OBZYrH1q-sOFKAoNzR5v6F9Qu0w6QhWGxLFBR-ZoYQ7k4joMuoUzalw1J4ayDHEGh3dkeTpH8RoPttqpqOanVDULBrvT~nkIYYsmqUiUfgeD0oa0xLnq9G1IJ0EEToQFeA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee it is seeking to keep grant funding steady at $258.3 million for the coming budget year while requesting four additional operational staff to strengthen oversight and technical assistance as MIDC standards reach full implementation.

MIDC Executive Director Kristen Stanley Staley said the commission has completed adoption of the currently required minimum standards for public defense and is now in a period of implementation rather than ongoing expansion of standards. “All of our MIDC standards, which we have been implementing over the past 12 years, are being implemented right now,” Stanley Staley said.

She explained that MIDC operates two distinct funding “buckets”: (1) state general‑fund grant dollars that flow to local trial‑court funding units and (2) a smaller operations budget that pays for MIDC staff. The grant total requested in the executive recommendation — $258,300,000 — is unchanged from last year; the operations request includes four additional FTEs and totals about $769,000 to increase financial oversight, training and review capacity.

Nut graf: MIDC said more than 90% of the grant dollars go directly to local public defense jobs — attorneys, investigators, social workers and other staff — and that the agency’s central role is to administer grants, monitor compliance with minimum standards, collect and analyze performance data, and encourage best practices statewide.

Stanley Staley reviewed MIDC’s structure and oversight work: a staff of 18 with regional managers covering six geographic regions, a grants team, and a research team that collects standardized data through a grant management system. MIDC said it currently administers grants across 33 local public‑defense systems and funds 35 public defender offices that cover 40 counties. The commission reported roughly 1,760 attorneys accept assigned appointments statewide, a number that rose by about 130 from the prior year.

Stanley Staley highlighted program outcomes MIDC tracks: 86% of arraignments last year (about 295,326 events) included counsel at first appearance, a development MIDC links to reduced pretrial incarceration and better case outcomes. MIDC also said investments have increased the use of social‑work positions (it funds 86 non‑attorney client‑advocate or social‑work roles) and expert evaluations — the commission reported about 2,300 cases used an expert in the most recent reporting period, a 41% increase from the prior year.

MIDC said local systems must apply annually for grant dollars and that the commission uses a grant management system to reduce application burden; commissioners said staff provide technical assistance, training and site visits to support compliance. The local share of funding and any attorney fee reimbursements remain part of local funding mixes and vary by county.

Committee members asked how MIDC handles missed application deadlines; Stanley Staley said the statute allows opportunities for correction and that the commission reviews applications and typically resolves first‑time misses through staff assistance and resubmission. She also described a program to temporarily reassign experienced attorneys into rural counties to address short‑term capacity gaps.

Ending: Stanley Staley said two pending bills (Senate Bill 81 and House Bill 4070) would expand MIDC coverage to youth defense and that MIDC hopes to coordinate with the Legislature should those bills move forward.","MIDC told the Senate subcommittee its FY26 executive recommendation maintains $258.3 million in grant funding to local public defense systems and requests a modest increase in operations funding to add four FTEs for oversight, training and qualification reviews as statewide standards are implemented.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6286948,"Department of Insurance and Financial Services asks for five staff and $1.6 million in FY26 to handle rising caseloads and cybersecurity",0,2410000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2555836-463cce22276d3f0fd698dfae2874362c&start=2410&end=2410","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2555836-463cce22276d3f0fd698dfae2874362c/thumbnail_2410000.jpg","/articles/6286948/Michigan/Department-of-Insurance-and-Financial-Services-asks-for-five-staff-and-16-million-in-FY26-to-handle-rising-caseloads-and-cybersecurity","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6286948-d70512099f3bb11b9d9492211c37de42/orig.mp4?Expires=1771061621&Signature=Aa08QaJiizH6UeO0SAIXcP5hEXcWvPskUkkDNnChY7kooF9Bg3KJckABH9UyifY1PI6tPUMHk7JwRKD15EKVZr8sdx2y0zsqPO4QdEeRjrYa9hXXFF4DPxJtZSq6SMNtzecK7t1cntz4jnd7Ckjgv5AXlR9YR-awT4nchM-uRm9Cth83mLcN7oTcRpfHKkO0~W6EnalKbsqxJfeSFyRkffcVxOGaxl0QMOskJudFRwlGKBP8vxn~4ycObqVYaYLLASUzJPQBRwwuQW1-UuIu32Mi8u-cyWbtxWBUUikSzdjxTnn5LvpyvQ8GK3~Kv8RLvfEvO2dKbaQAN9HqGRrPHQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) asked the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Insurance and Financial Services for five new full‑time positions and roughly $1.6 million in additional restricted fund authority for fiscal 2026 to expand enforcement, consumer protection and technology support.

DIFS Director Anita Fox said the request is driven by growth in the sectors the department regulates and by an increase in consumer appeals and cyber‑breach reporting. “We’re asking for a total of five FTEs,” Fox said, enumerating positions to handle independent medical‑review appeals, licensing investigations, market regulation, legal support and technology services.

The department summarized the FY26 request as about $1,603,420 in additional restricted funding. Fox detailed that roughly $849,200 would support the new insurance‑sector FTEs, about $330,000 would support increased criminal case referrals and $955,000 would cover routine payroll adjustments and other administrative costs rolled forward from previous years. The FY26 request also removes one‑time restricted funding in FY25 for an auto study and other outreach efforts that will not be renewed.

Nut graf: The department said the new staff are intended to keep pace with rapid growth in licensing and financial activity in Michigan, to process more independent review appeals and to investigate increasingly frequent cyber incidents — core functions DIFS says protect consumers and support market stability.

Fox told the committee the department has seen broad growth across regulated activities: total premiums in life, health and property/casualty up about 33% since 2019, producer licensing counts up 97% since 2014, bank assets up 41% and credit union assets up 63% in the same period. She said appeals to independent review have doubled since 2020, with more than 2,000 appeals in 2024.

The five positions Fox described are:
- One independent review appeals staffer to handle a projected increase in expedited medical‑necessity appeals (72‑hour expedited review process).
- One insurance investigation manager to supervise increased licensing investigations.
- One administrative loss specialist to provide legal support and guidance as new statutes expand the department’s responsibilities (including pharmacy benefit managers).
- One company market regulation analyst to monitor insurer compliance and investigate market conduct and cyber incidents.
- One technology services departmental specialist to oversee the department’s information systems and troubleshooting for licensing and filings.

Fox also reviewed the department’s consumer services operations, noting a live call center open weekdays and a specialty hotline for auto‑insurance questions created in 2020. The department reported answering 153,322 calls in 2024 and said it recovered about $22,500,000 for Michigan residents through complaint handling in 2024 — a 15% increase from 2023.

Fox said the FY25 auto‑insurance study contract has been finalized and the contractor expects to deliver a report by the statutory deadline of Sept. 30, 2025. She also described outreach toolkits the department gives to regulated institutions to warn customers about phone spoofing and other frauds.

Committee members asked for follow‑up data on how many of DIFS’s insurance complaints were auto‑related; Fox said staff would provide that breakdown after the hearing. There were no formal votes related to the budget request during the presentation.

Ending: Fox said DIFS will continue to provide follow‑up data and that the department’s FY26 request is intended to match staff capacity to growing licensing volumes, appeals and cybersecurity reporting so the agency can “proactively identify market conduct issues” and maintain consumer protections.

","Director Anita Fox told the Senate subcommittee that the Department of Insurance and Financial Services is seeking five full-time positions and about $1.6 million in additional restricted funding for fiscal 2026 to handle increased licensing volume, appeals and cyber breach investigations, and to maintain consumer outreach begun in FY25.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate subcommittee approves minutes from Feb. 25 and March 4 meetings

University of Michigan juvenile justice clinic outlines $1 million pilot to provide counsel at first appearance and embedded social‑work support

Michigan Indigent Defense Commission seeks flat grant funding of $258.3 million and four operations FTEs to oversee grants and standards

Department of Insurance and Financial Services asks for five staff and $1.6 million in FY26 to handle rising caseloads and cybersecurity