CHILDREN'S CABINET AND BUDGET
House Bill 5945
Sponsor: Rep. Doug Hart
Committee: Family and Children Services
Complete to 4-24-02
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5945 AS INTRODUCED 4-23-02
The bill would create the Michigan Children's Cabinet within the Department of Management and Budget (DMB). The cabinet would:
· Hold hearings and gather and review information and recommendations from state agencies and programs, to establish an agreement among, and support by, those agencies with regard to services and programs for children and their families.
· Identify and pool together funds from as many sources as possible, for services and programs for children and their families.
· Develop cost effective purchasing systems for the purchase of services.
· Develop funding mechanisms to better coordinate services.
· Assist the governor in developing a children's budget for services and program for children under the age of 19 and their families.
· Hold hearings and gather and review information and recommendations from interested organizations and other parties with regard to services and programs for children and their families.
· Develop an Internet web site to disseminate and receive information regarding the children's cabinet.
· Beginning January 1, 2004, and each subsequent January 1 thereafter, submit a report to the legislature that would include a list of interagency partnerships; any changes in interagency relationships during the preceding 12-month period; specific goals of the cabinet to improve the lives of children in the state; an action plan on how those goals will be met; what was done to meet those (starting January 1, 2005); and the current status of those goals.
In addition, the bill would require that one executive budget bill and one enacted budget bill be designated as the children's budget. The budget bills would contain individual line-item amounts (including the number of full-time equivalent positions funded) and any appropriate boilerplate language regarding services for children and their families. Beginning October 1, 2002 and each subsequent October 1 thereafter, the DMB would present a proposed children's budget to the legislature that delineates all funds that are being spent on children in the state. The proposed budget would include the appropriate portions from the budgets for higher
education, community colleges, the Family Independence Agency, and the Departments of Community Health, Education, Career Development, and Corrections.
The cabinet would consist of the directors of the Departments of Community Health, Career Development, Management and Budget, Corrections, and the Family Independence Agency. Other members would include the superintendent of public instruction, the state court administrator and the children's ombudsman. The governor would call the first meeting of the cabinet. At that time, the members would select a chairperson and any other officers. The cabinet would be required to meet at least every two months.
A majority of the members would constitute a quorum necessary to conduct business and take official action as the cabinet. The meetings of the cabinet would be subject to the Open Meetings Act (1976 P.A. 267). In addition, any writing owned, prepared, used, in the possession of, or retained by the cabinet in the performance of its official duties would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act (1976 P.A. 442).
MCL 18.1365 and 18.1367
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.