[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6101611,"mediaKeyId","2807533-8f3d0dadd803a86a36c629ac189c4efc","parentId",2807533,"title","Appropriations subcommittee reviews LARA FY2025 budget; MIDC grants drive recent growth","audioSeconds",935,"startMs",261000,"endMs",1196000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2807533-8f3d0dadd803a86a36c629ac189c4efc&start=261&end=1196","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2807533-8f3d0dadd803a86a36c629ac189c4efc/thumbnail_261000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6101611/Michigan/Appropriations-subcommittee-reviews-LARA-FY2025-budget-MIDC-grants-drive-recent-growth","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6101611-1ef6e2a3c7136e3353a59e8a5a43dded/orig.mp4?Expires=1770511783&Signature=m7XJiU476WgaWynO~QYsti9Y7u8PxaLCDMxrBbFcITjR8-mRWBEatPVR4~oDn0n3k381ZLpXcVOppQWCUATT4adLXeF9vJ3Th-Udfi2kWjxZXytnBh--bu9fkw1zGDnVQ7baokmZ9a3lGiEici86BjhWEZlkDsYRgIDMlJEsyyVQEoC1nhAyWCTB1cCNvJY0IUgOBMLQpJimNKqmTetRCtqUbIup5sSSbjvTiBXBzoGvzxwuZajImccpV5aNztLPPRPNHuQ7s0H~r5kXjaH2xhb7Sue49heC-kyF12VN2LvXy5ZxJE-nWw6U1NIzN4S3yYEpOWEUVHHhPSSikl7BRQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Appropriations Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Insurance and Financial Services Committee","date","2025-03-13T00:00:00Z","article","The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Insurance and Financial Services heard a presentation on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs' (LARA) fiscal 2025 budget on the committee record.

House fiscal analyst Unia Kupovich summarized funding sources and program areas, saying the department's budget is roughly 48% general fund and 43% state-restricted funds and accounts for about 1% of total state spending. \"My name is Unia Kupovich. I'm the House fiscal analyst responsible for the licensing and regulatory affairs and insurance and financial services budgets for LARA and DIFS. As Chair Beeson mentioned, today I'll be presenting the current fiscal year 2025 budgets for both departments,\" Kupovich said.

Kupovich told members that gross appropriations for LARA increased about 34% from 2021 to 2025, driven primarily by larger appropriations for grants distributed by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC). She said roughly $258.3 million is appropriated for MIDC grants in the current fiscal year and that those grants are \"almost exclusively a general fund\" obligation for the department.

The presentation broke the department into appropriation units and functions. Kupovich said about 44% of the LARA budget supports grants and roughly 25% supports occupational regulation. She reported 1,821 full-time equivalents authorized for LARA in 2025, with about half of those positions in six occupational-regulation bureaus, and noted a recent decline in FTEs tied to moving childcare licensing out of LARA into MiLEAP.

Kupovich highlighted a set of LARA responsibilities and line items members asked about: the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) appropriation (roughly $41.3 million, including federal gas pipeline safety funds and utility-assessment revenue), the Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) appropriation (about $22.8 million, largely from the Liquor Purchase Revolving Fund and licensing fees), and the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) appropriations (broken into the Industrial Hemp Licensing Regulation Fund, Marijuana Registry Fund, Marijuana Regulation Fund and Marijuana Regulatory Fund for medical licensing fees).

The analyst also listed smaller but recurring grants: firefighter training ($2.3 million), liquor law enforcement reimbursements ($9.9 million), marijuana-operation oversight grants ($3.0 million), remonumentation grants ($6.8 million), a $1.0 million general-fund urban search-and-rescue appropriation, and $2.1 million for utility consumer representation grants administered by the Utility Consumer Participation Board.

Members asked for further detail on several points. Representative Donovan McKinney asked what state oversight exists for nursing homes; Kupovich identified the Bureau of Community and Health Systems as the relevant unit within LARA but said she would follow up for detailed operational answers. Representative Donnie Steele asked whether grants such as firefighter training and liquor-law enforcement are statutorily required; Kupovich said those specific grants are statutorily required and funded at some level, while others in the department are discretionary or vary year to year.

Kupovich closed by noting several one-time appropriations in the budget year, including a five-year energy waste reduction study the Public Service Commission must complete, smoke-detector distributions, renewable-energy project grants and juvenile indigent defense grants. She said departmental heads will present in coming weeks to allow more detailed questioning.

The subcommittee did not take formal action during the presentation; members asked follow-up questions and requested departmental briefings in later hearings.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Appropriations - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Insurance and Financial Services Thursday, March 13, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Insurance and Financial Services heard a presentation on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs' fiscal 2025 budget, which shows large recent increases in grant funding for indigent defense.","taxTitle","Appropriations - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Insurance and Financial Services , Appropriations, House of Representative, Committees\t\t\t\t\t, Legislative, Michigan","taxId",30766,"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},6101606,"Subcommittee hears DIFS budget briefing; members flag long‑standing license-count issue and two one‑time studies",450,1449000,1899000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2807533-8f3d0dadd803a86a36c629ac189c4efc&start=1449&end=1899","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2807533-8f3d0dadd803a86a36c629ac189c4efc/thumbnail_1449000.jpg","/articles/6101606/Michigan/Subcommittee-hears-DIFS-budget-briefing-members-flag-longstanding-license-count-issue-and-two-onetime-studies","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6101606-a500edefab85f4baed4869b31272eec6/orig.mp4?Expires=1770511783&Signature=WVPnDxbLikKx9ODqG7BeURqQbZmbdQcvwGZ4DBA5YPUreT86Os39~cflwafrQFQvHxKhlUwJX~Z-6FxKkb2JQ9Zb6VjxDvozddM0fOKa5s2TPP6dLtYv3Z~yEIjMDYr0EWjk8Aii8wR5yQGABdSGEB93X-n3dCLo6MY00wnRhRakus74ZGx62KxDqvPCG2loz5WBusaeP-M-VrtLsR03akA5AZ36WxHsyCBAuhOhINuU3THYGFysxm-18GmGPeQe5w5ChIDtTF-eabKkE~Nthx27fOQUG6ozqWBM-Eofk~0gJ~7~PkIflpVaW26wAfKPstdtUhyVEKv0AP3cyI5iHQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Insurance and Financial Services received a fiscal 2025 budget briefing for the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS).

Analyst Unia Kupovich told the committee that the DIFS budget is almost entirely state-restricted revenue from license and assessment fees and that DIFS has not received general fund appropriations since 2022. \"Since 2022, DIFS has not received any general fund,\" she said while summarizing funding history and fiscal trends.

Kupovich said DIFS gross appropriations have increased about 7% over the last five years and that 404.5 FTEs were authorized for 2025, with roughly 93% of those positions in the Insurance Financial Services Regulation unit. She listed two one-time appropriations in the current budget year: $250,000 for an automobile-insurance study examining the effects of the 2019 no-fault reforms, with a report due Sept. 30, and $250,000 for a consumer outreach campaign to inform Michiganders how to file complaints and appeal health insurance decisions.

Committee members sought clarification of license counts for insurance agents and agencies. Kupovich said registered insurance agents increased in number while mortgage licenses declined. The committee received a clarification that many licenses remain active indefinitely: \"Once you buy a license in our state, it's forever,\" a committee member said during the exchange, noting that out-of-state licensees who sell into Michigan are included in the counts and that tracing active license records can be costly.

Kupovich also noted that recent FTE additions in 2023–24 were funded from existing departmental authorization, while 2025 FTE additions included new funding. She described the department's major restricted funds and explained that roughly 90% of DIFS' restricted revenue comes from five principal fund sources derived from insurers, banks, credit unions and mortgage brokers.

The subcommittee did not take formal action during the briefing and scheduled no votes. Members asked for follow-up detail on license-accounting costs and the distribution of fee sources.","The House Appropriations Subcommittee reviewed the Department of Insurance and Financial Services' 2025 budget, focusing on fee-funded appropriations, authorized FTEs and two one-time studies.","actionData","errors"]

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Appropriations subcommittee reviews LARA FY2025 budget; MIDC grants drive recent growth

Subcommittee hears DIFS budget briefing; members flag long‑standing license-count issue and two one‑time studies