0195: CONFERENCE REPORT (Date Completed: 5-27-13) - FY 2013-14 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BUDGET

FY 2013-14 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BUDGET S.B. 195 (CR-1): CONFERENCE REPORT

WHITE TEXT

FY 2012-13 Year-to-Date Gross Appropriation.....................................................................

$432,329,900

Changes from FY 2012-13 Year-to-Date:
Items Included by the Senate and House
1. Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Fund. The Governor, Senate, House and Conference included $97.0 million for grants and loans to municipalities for sewer upgrades and $3.0 million for wetland mitigation banks. Revenue would come from bond issues under Prop. 2 of 2002.	100,000,000
2. Economic Adjustments. Includes $715,300 Gross and $89,800 GF/GP for OPEB and $4,815,800 Gross and $657,800 GF/GP for other economic adjustments.	5,531,100
3. Other Changes. The Governor, Senate, House and Conference included addition Refined Petroleum Fund for cleanup of orphan tanks, implementation of Executive Order 2012-14, which moved the storage tank programs to LARA, technical revenue adjustments, the removal of one-time appropriations	(27,982,500)
Conference Agreement on Items of Difference
4. Hazardous Waste Program Fee Increase. Both the Senate and House rejected the fee increase recommended by the Governor. The House moved funding from the Office of Environmental Assistance to provide Waste Reduction Fee revenue to operate the Hazardous Waste Management program. The Senate reduced excess appropriations in the program. The Conference left the current funding for the program, but included boilerplate to accommodate any statutory change in how the program is funded.	0
5. Hazardous Waste One-Time Funding. The Senate and Conference concurred with the Governor in providing one-time GF/GP for this program. The House did not include this.	400,000
6. Wetlands Funding. The Senate and Conference concurred with the Governor in providing $1.0 million GF/GP for ongoing support of the program and $600,000 in one-time GF/GP revenue.	1,600,000
7. Information Technology Upgrades. The Governor, Senate and Conference included funding for improvements to the Department's internet and wireless bandwidth.	90,300
8. Brownfield Redevelopment Grants. The Conference included Clean Michigan Initiative funding for these grants.	5,500,000
9. Office of Environmental Assistance Reduction. The Conference reduced this program by $500,000 as part of an agreement with industry to fund the Hazardous Waste Program.	(500,000)
10. State Match for Surface Water. The Senate and Conference concurred with the Governor in providing $200,000 in GF/GP revenue for use as Federal match for the Surface Water line. The House did not include this funding.	200,000
11. Office of the Great Lakes Fund Shift. The Senate and Conference concurred with the Governor in removing $500,000 in Great Lakes Protection Fund revenue which is no longer available. The Governor and Senate replaced this revenue with GF/GP.	0
12. FY 2013-14 One-Time Appropriations. See items 5 and 6.	0

Total Changes.....................................................................................................................	$84,838,900
FY 2013-14 Conference Report Ongoing/One-Time Gross Appropriation............................	$517,168,800
Amount Over/(Under) GF/GP Target: $0

FY 2013-14 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BUDGET BOILERPLATE HIGHLIGHTS

Changes from FY 2012-13 Year-to-Date:

Conference Agreement on Items of Difference

1. IT Work Project Designation and User Fees. The Governor, Senate and Conference removed and House retained a section which designated IT appropriations as work a project, and a section which required the Department to pay IT user fees. (Sec. 206 & 208 of House Bill)

2. Office Consolidation Plan. The Governor, Senate and Conference removed and House retained a section requiring the Department to work with DTMB on an office consolidation plan. (Sec. 218 of House Bill)

3. Permit Tracking Tool. The Governor, Senate and Conference removed a section requiring a report on the implementation of this web-based tool. The House retained and modified the section slightly. (Sec. 227 of House Bill)

4. Wickes TCE Plume Site. The Governor, Senate and Conference removed a boilerplate appropriation for this cleanup site. The House retained the section, but removed the appropriation and required a report. (Sec. 307 of House Bill)

5. Aquatic Invasive Species Council. The Governor, House and Conference removed and Senate retained a section requiring the DEQ to provide support for the Council. (Sec. 403 of Senate Bill)

6. Wetlands Ombudsman. The House included a new section requiring $100,000 and 1.0 FTE be allocated towards funding a wetlands ombudsman. The Senate and Conference did not include this new section. (Sec. 406 of House Bill)

7. Prohibition on Sodium Limits. The Conference included a new section prohibiting the Department from using appropriations to enforce a limit on sodium in groundwater discharge. (Sec. 407 of Conference Report)

8. Lake St. Clair Beach Monitoring. The Conference included a new section requiring $100,000 from Surface Water be allocated to water quality monitoring equipment for the Lake St. Clair Metropark Beach in Harrison Township. (Sec. 408 of Conference Report)

9. Contracts Language. The Conference included a new section requiring the Department to use a certain Request for Information process when entering into contracts above $5.0 million. (Sec. 236 of Conference Report)

10. Environmental Pollution Prevention Fund Usage. The Conference included a new section that would allow appropriations from certain funds to be used as though they were appropriations from the Environmental Pollution Prevention fund provided a statutory change was made that allowed it. (Sec. 603 of Conference Report)

11. Environmental Pollution Prevention Fund Over-Appropriation. The Conference included a new section that specifies that if revenues to the Fund were not sufficient to support all appropriations from the Fund, that appropriations from the Fund for programs other than the Hazardous Waste Management Program be reduced. (Sec. 604 of Conference Report)

12. Brownfield Grants Work Project Language. The Conference included a new section specifying that appropriations for Brownfield Grants be carried-forward as a work project. (Sec. 309 of Conference Report)

Date Completed: 5-27-13 Fiscal Analyst: Josh Sefton

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.