SB0125: CONFERENCE REPORT (Date Completed: 5-28-15) - FY 2015-16 INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES BUDGET

FY 2015-16 INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES BUDGET S.B. 125 (CR-1): CONFERENCE REPORT

			CHANGES FROM FY 2014-15 YEAR-TO-DATE
FULL-TIME EQUATED (FTE) CLASSIFIED POSITIONS/FUNDING SOURCE	FY 2014-15 YEAR-TO-DATE	FY 2015-16 CONFERENCE	AMOUNT	PERCENT
FTE Positions..............................................................	337.0	337.0	0.0	0.0
GROSS.........................................................................	65,189,700	65,057,700	(132,000)	(0.2)
Less:
Interdepartmental Grants Received.....................	707,600	707,600	0	0.0
ADJUSTED GROSS..................................................	64,482,100	64,350,100	(132,000)	(0.2)
Less:
Federal Funds..........................................................	2,000,000	2,000,000	0	0.0
Local and Private....................................................	0	0	0	0.0
TOTAL STATE SPENDING.......................................	62,482,100	62,350,100	(132,000)	(0.2)
Less:
Other State Restricted Funds................................	62,427,100	62,200,100	(227,000)	(0.4)
GENERAL FUND/GENERAL PURPOSE..............	55,000	150,000	95,000	172.7
PAYMENTS TO LOCALS..........................................	0	0	0	0.0

FY 2014-15 Year-to-Date Gross Appropriation.....................................................................

$65,189,700

Changes from FY 2014-15 Year-to-Date:
Items Included by the Senate and House
1. Michigan Business One Stop (MBOS) Reduction. Reduced IT funding due to decreased costs. The Department previously paid for MBOS portal services for online license applications. Since the Department started issuing licenses directly from its own website, this service was no longer needed.	(78,500)
2. Economic Adjustments. Includes a negative $446,100 Gross and $0 GF/GP for OPEB and $297,600 Gross and $0 GF/GP for other economic adjustments.	(148,500)
Conference Agreement on Items of Difference
3. Healthy Michigan Plan Reporting. The Governor, House, and Conference included $150,000 GF/GP for the executive director program to administer reporting requirements under Medicaid expansion regarding evidence on rate changes. In FY 2014-15, $55,000 GF/GP was appropriated to this program to create a baseline report. According to the Department, the cost of this program going forward has increased as more in-depth analysis is required in reports subsequent to the initial baseline report. The Senate included $55,000 GF/GP for this program.	95,000

Total Changes.....................................................................................................................	($132,000)
FY 2015-16 Conference Report Ongoing/One-Time Gross Appropriation.............................	$65,057,700
Amount Over/(Under) GF/GP Target: $0

Boilerplate Changes from FY 2014-15 Year-to-Date:

Items Included by the Senate and House

1. Record Retention. The Senate and House retained a requirement regarding retaining copies of reports in compliance with Federal and State guidelines for short-term and long-term record retention. The Governor deleted this requirement. (Sec. 212)

2. Disciplinary Action. The Senate and House retained a prohibition against the Department taking disciplinary action against an employee for communicating with a member of the Legislature or legislative staff. The Governor deleted this requirement. (Sec. 215)

3. Office Space Reporting. The Senate and House retained a requirement that the Department submit a report regarding the amount of office space square footage paid for and actually used by the department. The Governor deleted this requirement. (Sec. 219)

4. Television and Radio Productions. The Senate and House retained a prohibition against the Department developing or producing any television or radio productions. The Governor deleted this requirement. (Sec. 232)

5. Economic Development Report. The Senate and House retained a requirement for the Department to submit a report to the Legislature indicating funds spent and full-time positions used, and a plan for ongoing and future efforts, regarding support of economic development of the insurance or financial industries. The Governor deleted this requirement. (Sec. 310)

Conference Agreement on Items of Difference

6. Benchmarks and Performance Measurement. The Conference concurred with the Senate and modified a requirement for the Department to measure performance relating to expenditures for programs over $0.5 million, and report on proposed benchmarks. The Governor deleted and the House retained this requirement. (Sec. 205)

7. Full-time Equated Positions: Spending and Reporting. The Conference concurred with the House and Governor and deleted a section which stated that it is the Legislature's intent that: 1) appropriations are properly accounted for, and 2) that full-time equated positions are not to be used as placeholders for spending in other parts of budgets. The section also required an annual report to the Legislature that details full-time equated position data. (Sec. 240)

8. Autism Coverage Fund. The Conference concurred with the Senate and modified reporting requirements regarding Autism Coverage Fund reimbursements to carriers for autism diagnosis and treatment. The House retained and the Governor deleted this report requirement. (Sec. 802)

9. Department Scorecard. The Conference modified existing criteria for the scorecard regarding metrics on annual rate filings from health insurance issuers. The Senate modified the provision, and the House and Governor retained it. (Sec. 229)

Date Completed: 5-28-15 Fiscal Analyst: Glenn Steffens

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.