Following the overall budget deal struck last week between the Governor and Legislative leaders, the House and Senate this week set conference committees in motion drafting the particulars of that deal. Nearly all of the conference reports have been approved and sent to the floors of the House and Senate. The conference report on the General Government budget, which includes Revenue Sharing (SB 122), was approved yesterday and awaits final action.
The conferees agreed to maintain statutory revenue sharing payments for all cities, villages and townships at current year levels for FY16, with $243 million in ongoing spending and $5.8 million in one-time funding that goes to support payments to 100 townships that would otherwise not have received a statutory revenue sharing payment.
In a new twist, the conference report includes a boilerplate section that calls for a legislative workgroup to be formed that will explore revisions to the distribution formula for statutory revenue sharing. Click here to view a spreadsheet showing anticipated revenue sharing dollars by community.
In talking with the Senate chairman, details on the structure and timeline for this new workgroup have not been developed yet, but will include input from the League. The contents of each individual budget conference report will be combined into one, omnibus budget bill (SB 133), that will likely be voted on next week. Please contact our office if you are interested in the estimated payment information for your community.
Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304