House Appropriations subcommittee reviews proposed cuts and changes to ‘General Government’ budget boilerplate

Lansing — The House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government reviewed a House Fiscal Agency comparison of budget “boilerplate” language across fiscal year 2023, the current enacted year and the governor’s fiscal 2026 executive recommendation during its February 2025 meeting. The session included a line-by-line overview of sections affecting the Attorney General, Department of State, Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB), Department of Civil Rights and legislative operations.

The comparison shows the executive proposal removes many reporting requirements and some receipt-and-spend authorizations while adding or retaining targeted appropriations and contingency authorizations in a few areas. Committee members and the presenter discussed impacts on transparency, local reimbursements and program administration.

Michael Knasson of the House Fiscal Agency told the panel the document compares three sets of boilerplate and “shows where boilerplate has been, where it is now and where the governor would like to see it go,” and described the packet as “80 pages of boilerplate.” The analysis focused on sections that changed; blank entries in the comparison indicate no change rather than…