A bill passed in the Michigan House this week could change how state budgets are written.
The legislation would require lawmakers to publicly submit spending requests for the upcoming budget by April each year. If they don’t, the bill would stop state departments from disbursing the money.
Bill sponsor Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare) said taking away the option to add some district spending late in the process could simplify things for the budget—which often comes down to last minute negotiations.
“Now, there’s not a last minute deal. Somebody doesn’t show up in the last minute and say, ‘You know what? I decided I need this and I’m red until I get this.’ And so, I think if we put everything on the table, it’s going to be easier to deal with it. Now there are no last minute deals. In theory,” Kunse said.
In addition to requiring advance disclosure of spending requests, the bill would require lawmakers to certify that the organization that would receive a grant had been in existence for at least three years, and had a physical office in the state for at least one year. The rules are an attempt to prevent issues seen in past years.
Representative Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) is House Appropriations minority vice chair. He was among the 108 state representatives who voted for the bill.
“What it does is it shifts the way we do budgets from one-time short conversations to we have to be more intentional now. I think if you’re getting to the point where you’re a couple hours from passing a budget and you need to get a vote, and so you offer somebody a project for that, that means that budget is structurally broken,” Farhat said.
The concept for the bill stems from House rules adopted for the current legislative session, despite concerns from the Senate. The last couple of state budgets have also required lawmakers to publicly own their budget requests.
Those reports come out after the budget is already passed.
Both Farhat and Kunse said they’d like to see some sort of accountability to ensure future legislatures follow the timeline, if the bill does become law.
But Kunse admitted, that’s a difficult thing to do since lawmakers aren’t allowed to constrain future legislatures’ actions.
“I want this to happen. I want future legislation to be transparent. I’m hoping they do the right thing and follow state law. I don’t know how to add what is the penalty and who would enforce it,” Kunse said.
Keeping lawmakers to statutory timelines has already been difficult. For example, state law requires them to pass a budget by July 1 of each year. The Michigan House has yet to pass any department proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, putting them behind schedule.
As for the bill’s chances, it could be caught up in fighting between the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-led House.
“I’ll take a look at the bill, and I strongly encourage the House to also take a close look at our FOIA legislation that’s been in their chamber for months. It’s the gold standard of transparency,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said in a written statement provided by her spokesperson.
Brinks was referring to long-worked on bills to expand the state’s Freedom of Information Act that House leadership has held up, despite bipartisan support.
