FY 2014-15 MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS BUDGET S.B. 773 (S-1): SENATE APPROPRIATIONS REC.
Senate Bill 773 (S-1 as reported) Throughout this document Senate means Appropriations Committee
Committee: Appropriations
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$177,130,000 |
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1. National Guard Tuition Assistance Program. Governor and Senate recommended $5.0 million GF/GP to implement a tuition assistance program for members of Michigan Air and Army National Guard to increase readiness, recruitment, and retention, covering 100% of tuition, up to $4,500 per year. |
5,000,000 |
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2. Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA). Governor and Senate recommended additional funding of $1.2 million GF/GP to support full staffing and CSS&M costs. |
1,200,000 |
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3. MVAA Regional Coordinators. Governor and Senate recommended funding of $750,000 GF/GP for additional 10 contracted employees from the Veterans Service Coalition to manage and monitor regional workloads of veterans' services and to provide for funding for performance incentives for service officers. |
750,000 |
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4. County Veterans Service Offices Incentives. Governor and Senate included $250,000 GF/GP to support claims processing technology for county offices, adding new county veterans service officers and for the creation of new offices. |
250,000 |
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5. Veterans Homes Special Maintenance. Governor and Senate added $3.0 million GF/GP one-time appropriation for special maintenance at the state veterans' homes. |
3,000,000 |
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6. Veterans Advice, Advocacy, and Assistance Grants. The Senate added a total increase of $857,900 GF/GP for grant program, which included $607,900 from new funding and $250,000 from available funds from MVAA administration, bringing the FY 2014 grant total to $3,762,500 GF/GP. |
607,900 |
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7. Armory Special Maintenance. The Senate reduced appropriations for special maintenance at state armories. Due to pre-funding of maintenance from PA 34 of 2014. |
(3,051,200) |
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8. Legal Services. Senate added funds for MVAA to allow for representation before a Federal court. |
50,000 |
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9. One-Time Appropriations for FY 2013-14. The Governor and Senate removed one-time FY 2013-14 appropriations of $5,500,000 GF/GP for Veterans Service Delivery Initiative ($3,965,000), MVAA Computer Upgrade ($1,500,000), and County Counselor Training conference ($45,000). |
(5,500,000) |
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10. Adjustment for FY 2013-14 Supplemental Appropriations. |
(10,400,000) |
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11. Grand Rapids Home Funding Adjustment. Governor shifted $225,000 in Restricted funding to GF/GP to reflect lower collection and maintain service levels. |
0 |
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12. Reductions to Reflect Actual Restricted Revenues Received. The Governor recommended reductions across several budget lines to reflect actual anticipated Restricted/Federal revenue. |
(3,125,000) |
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13. Economic Adjustments. Includes a negative $463,500 Gross and a negative $132,100 GF/GP for OPEB and $1,753,300 Gross and $509,500 GF/GP for other economic adjustments. |
1,289,900 |
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14. Comparison to Governor's Recommendation. Senate was $657,900 Gross and $657,900 GF/GP above Governor's revised Recommendation. |
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($9,928,400) |
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FY 2014-15 Senate Appropriations Committee Gross Appropriation................................... |
$167,201,600 |
FY 2014-15 MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS BUDGET BOILERPLATE HIGHLIGHTS
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Changes from FY 2013-14 Year-to-Date: |
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1. Legacy Costs. Governor and Senate added new language which states the legacy costs for pensions and health care within the appropriations in part 1. (Sec. 231) |
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2. Armory Maintenance Quarterly Reports. Senate added language requiring quarterly reports on the list of maintenance projects and their respective costs, which are funded from special maintenance in part 1. (Sec. 302 (4)) |
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3. Youth Challenge Program. Governor and Senate added new language sections, including subsection (4) which requires steps to be taken to recruit candidates from the economically disadvantaged and subsection (5) which requires a partnership with the DHS to identify eligible youth from DHS programs and to give priority to these youth for enrollment in the program. (Sec. 307) |
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4. Starbase Grant. Senate added language which states the goals and guidelines for the Federal pass-through educational program for K-12 students in the State. (Sec. 309) |
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5. National Guard Tuition Assistance Program. Senate added language which provides a description and guidelines for a new tuition assistance program for guard members. (Sec. 310) |
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6. Information Technology Services and Project. Senate added language describing the use for this appropriation. (Sec. 311) |
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7. Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. Governor and Senate removed a numerical metric from within subsection (4) which requires staffing and resources to approve "5,295" requests for military discharge certificates (DD-214) for the fiscal year. (Sec. 401) |
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8. Veterans' Outreach. Senate added language requiring communication of benefit eligibility information to at least 50%, rather than the current year 35% of the State's 680,417 veterans. The Senate also added the goal of such outreach shall be 100%. Language was also added that the MVAA enable 100% of veterans to access benefit information on line. (Sec. 401 (2)) |
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9. Fully Developed Claims. Senate changed the requirement that the minimum percentage of fully developed claims by MVAA staff, county counselors, and veterans service organizations shall increase from 20% to 40% of claims submitted. (Sec. 401 (8), (14) and Sec. 402 (2)) |
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10. Digitization of Medical Records Quarterly Reports. Senate added language requiring a quarterly report on the progress toward completion of the effort to digitize all medical records which are currently on paper and microfilm. (Sec.401 (5)) |
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11. Legal Services. Senate added language providing for MVAA legal services. (Sec. 402) |
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12. Veterans Advice, Advocacy, and Assistance Grants. Senate added language which requires that the MVAA ensure that each VSO that receives a grant is issued performance standards, requires that each VSO receiving a grant uses those funds for veterans advocacy and outreach, and requires the MVAA to monitor their performance. (Sec. 403 (4), (5), (6)) |
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13. County Counselor Training. Senate added language requiring the MVAA to develop a process to ensure all county veterans counselors receive the training and accreditation necessary to provide quality services to veterans. (Sec. 401 (12)) |
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14. Veterans Homes. Governor and Senate removed subsection (25), which required a detailed report to subcommittees documenting the complaint management process utilized by the Grand Rapids Veterans Home by November 30, 2013. (Sec. 501) |
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15. Posting of Complaint Process. Senate added language requiring the posting of how visitors, residents, and employees may register a complaint with the State's veterans homes. (Sec. 501 (16)) and Sec. 503 (16) |
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16. Board of Managers. Senate added language describing the responsibilities of the Board of Managers, which oversees the operations of the State's veterans homes. (Secs. 502 and 504) |
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17. Special Maintenance for Military Training Sites and Support Facilities and Veterans Homes. Senate added language describing the use for appropriations for Special Maintenance – Military Training Sites and Support Facilities, and Special Maintenance for Veterans Homes, in both the boilerplate section concerning ongoing appropriations and in the section dealing with one-time appropriations. (Secs. 602, 603, 702) |
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18. Elimination of FY 2013-14 One-time Appropriations Boilerplate. (Secs. 701, 702, 703) |
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19. FY 2015-16 Appropriations. Senate added language requiring the MVAA to maintain a minimum 50% fully developed claims as determined by the DVA. (Sec. 1204) |
Date Completed: 4-24-14 Fiscal Analyst: Bruce Baker
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.