Committee reviews Department of Treasury boilerplate changes, election funds and new one‑time proposals

The House Appropriations Committee on General Government received a detailed walkthrough of proposed Department of Treasury boilerplate and budget changes March 13, 2025, from Myel Knausson (Treasury staff). Knausson reviewed deletions of reporting requirements, modifications to receive‑and‑expend language, updates to several funds and new one‑time appropriations included in the governor’s recommended budget.

Knausson said the governor’s fiscal 2026 recommendations would delete section 902a (a 30‑day refinancing/annual debt‑service report added in fiscal year 2025), eliminate a requirement in section 903 that Treasury issue an RFP for secondary placement collection services (the RFP requirement was removed in fiscal year 2023), and drop a student loan ombudsman clarification in section 935 that had been moved to another department (MyLEAP). He described several other edits that remove or simplify boilerplate reporting obligations tied to receive‑and‑expend language.

Knausson identified new and changed provisions: a section authorizing distribution of State Forensic Laboratory Fund revenues in accordance with statute; a proposed deletion of vendor/contractor‑level reporting for the Michigan accounts receivable collection system; and two new sections that appropriate revenue for the qualified heavy equipment rental personal property specific tax act and the local government reimbursement fund in accordance with statute.

On election‑related language, Knausson noted the House had previously included a $10,000,000 election equipment reserve fund in its past budget bill (section 940), but that fund was not in the enacted budget; similar local election operations reserve funds proposed in prior years were not included in the current executive recommendations. He also described boilerplate about Treasury’s role coordinating financial‑responsibility teams with the financial independence teams for school districts; that language had been judged unenforceable and the executive budget recommends deleting it.

Knausson said changes affecting gaming revenue reflect statute and adjust earmarks from internet sports betting and internet gaming funds for compulsive‑gaming prevention; those earmarks would increase from $500,000 each to $1,000,000 and $3,000,000 respectively under the executive recommendation. He also noted a new one‑time $3,000,000 recommendation for a Michigan Financial Empowerment Program and a proposed one‑time $25,000,000 appropriation for arc‑wire removal in Detroit with specified stipulations attached to that recommendation.

Knausson said the governor’s budget also unrolled the $34,400,000 CVT three‑factor allocation into a separate line item for revenue sharing, leaving the remaining revenue‑sharing provisions largely intact. Several boilerplate reporting sections added since fiscal year 2023 (for specific receive‑and‑expend authorizations and tax credit processing) were described as candidates for deletion or simplification in the executive plan.

A committee member asked why vendor‑level reporting for the accounts receivable system was being recommended for deletion; Knausson said he did not know the details and suggested committee staff could follow up with Treasury. No formal committee vote was taken on boilerplate language during the meeting. The committee adjourned after completing the Treasury boilerplate review.