Updates About Appropriations

Following testimony in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections, it was revealed that Michigan’s prisoner population has been steadily declining, but the mental and physical health caseload is on the rise.

About a third of Michigan’s prisoner population is currently on active mental health caseload. Approximately 446 patients are awaiting Hepatitis C treatment, while 69 patients are currently receiving treatment. The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) adds about 11 new patients each month, spending an average of $15,122 per patient on Hepatitis C treatment. These costs are a significant portion of the MDOC budget, totaling over $300 million per year.

MDOC is also facing challenges regarding staffing, especially with corrections officers and healthcare staff. There are about 866 total corrections officer vacancies which is equivalent to about 15.3% of total corrections officers. MDOC is prioritizing staffing recruitment and retention efforts as well as combatting the increase in mental and physical health caseload.

On March 8, Governor Whitmer signed a $1.3 billion supplemental appropriations bill that funds economic development incentives for Ford to build a new electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, recruitment and retention dollars for healthcare workers, and funding for community violence intervention grants. Specifically, the following were included:

• $630 million for Ford Motor Company’s new EV battery plant to be built in Marshall, MI
• $75 million to support health care recruitment and retention programs
• $67 million to support long term care workforce recruitment and retention programs
• $63.5 million to increase long term care reimbursement rates
• $10.8 million to establish and office of community violence intervention services
• $60 million for a competitive grant program to provide grants to community centers
• $170 million to deposit in the state’s Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund (SOAR)
• $25 million to deposit in the Water Shutoff Prevention Fund
• $212 for energy efficiency updates completed by homeowners/landlords

On September 28, one of the final session days ahead of the November 8 election, the Michigan State Legislature finalized a $1 billion supplemental appropriation bill, most of which would additional funding to the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund for various economic development projects.

In light of the negotiations, Representative Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) announced during the House Appropriations committee meeting that he would be resigning as chair due to his concerns with approving additional spending. Albert, who again addressed the chamber during his no-vote explanation, said he could not support the spending during a “period of economic uncertainty”. Representative Mary Whiteford (R-Casco Township) will serve as the Appropriations Chair for the remainder of the 2021-22 legislative session.

Following an agreement struck between the Whitmer administration, local clerks and lawmakers, the Michigan State Legislature also took up a package of bills related to election security and preprocessing of absentee ballots. All bills in the package passed out of both chambers and now head to the desk of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. House Bill 4491 would allow county clerks to remove deceased individuals from the qualified voter file as well as allow absentee ballot preprocessing up to two days before the election. Currently, Michigan only allows preprocessing 24 hours prior to an election and only in municipalities of at least 1,500 voters. House Bill 6071 would increase access to polling locations. Senate Bill 8 defines “verified electronic signature” for military personnel, while SB 311 allows the electronic return of ballots for military voters.

The legislation is expected to be signed into law and be in effect for the upcoming November general election.