FY 2004-05 MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS BUDGET H.B. 5522 (P.A. 341 of 2004): ENACTED

Changes from FY 2003-04 Year-to-Date:
Items Included by the House and Senate
1. Challenge Program. The budget includes an increase of GF/GP ($125,000) and $39,500 in IDG funds to fund two 50-pupil classes of the program for FY 2004-05.	164,500
2. Headquarters and Armories, Training Sites. The budget includes additional available Federal funds for maintenance, security, construction, and personnel costs associated with maintaining training sites and logistical facilities.	3,300,000
3. Homeland Security Grant. The budget includes authorization of Federal funds received through the Department of State Police for Homeland Security costs.	300,000
4. Military Retirement. The budget provides an increase for State-required military retirement benefits to reflect actual projected costs.	176,000
5. Veterans Service Organization Grants. The Senate included funding for grants to veterans service organizations at the FY 2003-04 level of $3,912,300 GF/GP.	0
6. Employee-Related Savings. The Senate included a 5% employee-related savings to assist in the funding of overall FY 2004-05 economic costs.	(2,198,500)
7. Adjustment for FY 2003-04 Supplemental. The bill reflects an adjustment for supplemental appropriations PA 309 of 2004, which contained no net increase in GF/GP appropriations.	(4,742,500)
8. Economic Adjustments.	5,758,100
9. Other Changes.	8,100
Conference Agreement on Items of Difference
10. Holiday Transit Costs for Troops. The Senate retained $100 of the funding which had been used to assist state-side based troops' travel back to the State for the 2003 holiday season in December and established a separate line item for the program. The Conference Committee concurred with the House.	(100,000)
11. Challenge Program. The Senate added $400,000 in recently anticipated funding that would come from the Family Independence Agency in the form of an IDG. The Conference Committee concurred with the Senate.	400,000
12. Veterans Trust Fund. The House added $1.0 million to the Veterans Trust Fund to support the Veterans Survivor Grant Program. The Conference Committee did not concur in the House action.
13. D.I.T. Reduction. The Conference Committee provided for additional GF/GP efficiency savings to be taken from D.I.T.	(7,200)
Total Changes	$2,873,400
FY 2004-05 Enacted Gross Appropriation	$110,713,400

FY 2004-05 MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS BUDGET BOILERPLATE HIGHLIGHTS

Changes from FY 2003-04 Year to Date:

Items Included by the House and Senate

1. Phone Cards. The Governor, House, and Senate deleted language which requires the State Family Program Office to promote the distribution of prepaid phone cards to guard members and reservists deployed overseas on active duty. (Sec. 303)

2. Veterans Trust Fund Annual Report. The Governor, House, and Senate deleted a section which required reporting on grant requests denied during the year. (Sec. 703)

Conference Agreement on Items of Difference

3. Veterans Trust Fund Board. The Senate added new language stating legislative intent that the MVTF Board shall only expend interest earnings from the MVTF, per PA 9 of 1946. The Conference Committee concurred with the Senate and added intent to find new fund source and restore the corpus of the fund to its original amount of $50.0 million. (Sec. 705)

4. Contingency Funds Transfer Language. The House concurred with the Governor and included a section to allow for contingency fund transfers. The Senate rejected the language. The Conference Committee concurred with the Senate.

5. State Military Cemetery Funding. The Senate included current-year language which provides that if legislation and funding are forthcoming, funds shall be appropriated for State military cemeteries in Crawford and Dickinson counties. The House rejected this section. The Conference Committee concurred with the Senate.

6. Hiring Freeze. The Senate included revised language which included more specific exceptions to the hiring freeze provision. The House did not include the revised language. The Conference Committee concurred with the House.

7. Travel Policy. The Conference Committee added language which states guidelines for out-of-State travel for State employees. (Sec. 223)

Date Completed: 9-29-04 Fiscal Analyst: Bruce Baker Bill Analysis @ http://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa October 13, 2004 This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations. himil_en.doc