Appropriations Committee unanimously adopts transparency measures for enhancement grants

The Michigan House Appropriations Committee adopted an H-1 substitute to House Bill 44 20 that requires the department to publish awarded enhancement grants, the amounts awarded and the status of those awards on its website and requires nonprofit grantees to provide their IRS Form 990 tax filings to the department.

Representative Farhat, speaking to the committee, said the measure is meant to increase accountability for use of public funds. “Transparency is paramount to the work that we do here, making sure that tax dollars are responsibly allocated and that people in Michigan know that we take it seriously,” Representative Farhat said. He praised the change that centralizes Form 990s for grantees so the public and lawmakers can more easily see nonprofit overhead and spending.

Representative Steckloff offered Amendment 1 to the H-1 substitute to remove certain allowed uses of enhancement grant funds. “Currently, for property owners or developers, you can use that funds to pay back taxes, tax liens, and other obligations owed to the state,” Steckloff said. Her amendment struck those uses; the committee adopted the amendment by voice/roll call.

On the motion to adopt the H-1 substitute to House Bill 44 20, Representative Farhat moved the substitute; the clerk called the roll and the committee recorded 28 yeas, 0 nays and 0 passes. Representative Steckloff moved Amendment 1 to the H-1; the amendment was adopted by a roll call that the clerk recorded as 28 yeas, 0 nays, 0 passes. Later the committee voted to report House Bill 44 20, as amended, with a recommendation as a new substitute; Representative Steele moved the report and the clerk recorded 29 yeas, 0 nays and 0 passes. The committee chair announced the bill was reported with the committee’s recommendation as amended.

The substitute requires the department to clearly list, on its publicly accessible website, the enhancement grants that were awarded, the amount of funding for each award and the status of the funding. The substitute also requires nonprofit organizations that receive enhancement grants to provide to the department their IRS Form 990 filings. The adopted Amendment 1 removes authorization for grant recipients who are property owners or developers to use enhancement grant funds for paying back taxes, tax liens and other obligations owed to the state.

Committee members who asked procedural or clarifying questions did not record objections during debate; sponsors and supporters expressed that the changes respond to earlier committee feedback and aim to make grant awards and nonprofit spending easier for legislators and the public to review.

The committee concluded its session by reporting the bill to the next stage of the House process with a recommendation as amended.