Subcommittee advances DIFS budget after split vote; senator objects over timing of bill language

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs advanced the S‑1 substitute for Senate Bill 178, the chair’s recommended fiscal year 2025–26 budget for the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS). The motion to adopt the substitute was carried and the bill was reported to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Chair Kavanaugh thanked department staff, Senate Fiscal Agency staff and subcommittee staff for their work and said the recommendation focuses on accessibility and transparency for insured Michiganders. "We've asked the department to develop a plan to establish satellite hours across the state to continue expanding our outreach and efforts," Kavanaugh said.

Senator Tice registered a no vote and explained she had only received a briefing summary the night before and had not seen the final bill language. Tice flagged a provision on page 14 that would require the State Budget Office, "not later than the effective date of this act," to provide an initial list of grants that require legislative sponsorship and make public a list of grants likely to be sponsored by the department or the State Budget Office. "How was the state budget office supposed to do something on or before the effective date of this act?" Tice asked, and noted language‑service questions remaining in the bill from the Legislative Service Bureau.

Chair Kavanaugh responded that this was the first step in the process, invited feedback and urged colleagues to work with her office to craft a bipartisan budget.

The clerk recorded the roll call on the S‑1 substitute: Chair Kavanaugh and Senator Santana voted yes; Senator Tice voted no. The clerk reported two yeas and the substitute was adopted. The subcommittee then reported Senate Bill 178, as amended, to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.