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LARA requests $2.7M and new staff to speed nursing-home investigations in FY2026 pitch to appropriations subcommittee
Summary
Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Director Marlon Brown told the House Appropriations Subcommittee the FY2026 proposal includes $2.7 million and 7 FTEs to improve timeliness of nursing-home complaints and $700,000 and 3 FTEs to bolster oversight of homes for the aged.
Marlon Brown, director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Insurance and Financial Services that the department’s FY2026 budget request includes $2.7 million and additional staff to improve investigations of complaints in nursing homes and other acute and continuing care facilities.
Brown said the proposal calls for $2.4 million and seven FTEs to speed investigations and sustain routine inspections, and about $300,000 and two FTEs for complaint intake. He also said the governor’s recommendation includes $700,000 and three FTEs to enhance oversight of Michigan’s 348 licensed homes for the aged (HFAs).
Why it matters: LARA serves as Michigan’s primary state regulatory agency for licensing and inspections in health care, construction, liquor and other fields. The department told the panel it must meet federal requirements for nursing-home oversight and respond more quickly to “immediate jeopardy” complaints, which CMS requires be investigated on site within three business days.
Brown described several drivers behind the request. He said the complaint intake unit received more than 7,000 complaints last fiscal year and that staffing shortfalls have left the department unable to fill posted positions: “Increasing staffing in this program is critical to maintaining routine nursing home inspections, required on average to be within 12.9 months or less by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” Brown said. He added that immediate jeopardy complaints are situations in which “an individual may be at risk of serious injury, harm, impairment, or death.”
The director also highlighted an Office of Auditor General (OAG) audit finding from March 2023 that cited deficiencies in HFA inspection processes and documentation and reported that HFA licensure activity costs exceeded related revenues by nearly $900,000 in fiscal 2021.
Dan Horn, LARA’s director of finance and administrative services, told committee members the FY2026 gross recommendation for the department is roughly $650.6 million and that about 43 percent of the budget supports state grant programs administered to local units of government. Horn said $301.5 million (46 percent) is recommended from the general fund, much of which funds indigent criminal defense and local systems administered through grants.
Committee members asked for clarification about overlaps with other agencies. Representative Steele asked whether the Department of Insurance and Financial Services might be requesting similar authority; Brown said he had not reviewed DIFS’s budget in detail and agreed to follow up. Brown and Horn emphasized that LARA’s work on health care facilities reflects both state licensure and federal certification responsibilities administered under CMS.
The presentation also reviewed LARA initiatives beyond health care oversight: efforts to reduce barriers to licensure, upgrades to online licensing systems (including online LLC registration and an online nurse aide training and enforcement system), and the creation of a Regulatory Effectiveness Office intended to centralize lean-process improvements, education for licensees and recruitment efforts for skilled trades.
The committee adopted the subcommittee minutes from the April 17, 2025 meeting at the start of the session; Representative Steele moved to approve the minutes and the chair stated the minutes were adopted by voice vote with no roll-call tally provided.
LARA officials invited further follow-up and said they would provide supplemental information to members’ offices as requested. Brown closed by reiterating the department’s mission “to protect people and to promote business in Michigan through transparent and accessible regulatory solutions.”
Looking ahead: LARA asked the subcommittee to consider the FY2026 staffing and funding requests as part of the broader budget process; staff said they will follow up with committee offices to clarify overlaps with other departments and provide additional data upon request.
