to adopt the amendment to HB 5516.
Representative Brixie moved to adopt the amendment to HB 5516. The motion prevailed 17-0- 11: FAVORABLE ROLL CALL Yeas: Reps. Witwer, O'Neal, Brixie, Hood, Brabec, Morse, Puri, Steckloff, Weiss, Martus, McKinney, Mentzer, Morgan, Price, Skaggs, Snyder, Wilson. Nays: None. Pass: Reps. Bollin, Green, Slagh, Beson, Borton, Fink, Cavitt, DeBoer, Kuhn, Schuette, Steele. Representative Bollin offered the following amendments to HB 5516: 1. Amend page 41, following line 7, by inserting: "Sec. 213. The departments and agencies receiving appropriations in part 1 shall maintain, on a publicly accessible website, information that identifies, tracks, and regularly updates key metrics that are used to monitor and improve the department’s or agency’s performance.". 2. Amend page 42, following line 23, by inserting: "Sec. 221. If the state administrative board, acting under section 3 of 1921 PA 2, MCL 17.3, transfers funds from an amount appropriated under this part or part 1, the legislature may, by a concurrent resolution adopted by a majority of the members elected to and serving in each house, inter-transfer funds within this part or part 1 for the particular department, board, commission, officer, or institution.". 3. Amend page 44, following line 13, by inserting: "Sec. 229. (1) From the funds appropriated in part 1, the departments and agencies shall do both of the following: (a) Report to the senate and house appropriations committees and the standard report recipients any amounts of severance pay for a department or agency director, deputy director, or other highranking department officials not later than 14 days after a severance agreement with the director or official is signed. The name of the director or official and the amount of severance pay must be included in the report required by this subdivision. (b) By February 1, report to the senate and house appropriations committees and the standard report recipients on the total amount of severance pay remitted to former department or agency employees during the prior fiscal year and the total number of former department employees that were remitted severance pay during the prior fiscal year. (2) As used in this section, “severance pay” means compensation that is both payable or paid upon the termination of employment and in addition to either wages or benefits earned during the course of employment or generally applicable retirement benefits.". 4. Amend page 44, following line 13, by inserting: "Sec. 230. (1) For any grant program or project funded in part 1 intended for a single recipient organization or local government, the grant program or project is for a public purpose and the department or agency shall follow procurement statutes of this state, including any bidding requirements, unless the department or agency can fully validate, through information detailed in this part or public supporting documents, both of the following: (a) The specific organization or unit of local government that will receive or administer the funds. (b) How the funds will be administered and expended. (2) Notwithstanding any other conditions or requirements for direct appropriation grants, the department or agency shall perform at least all of the following activities to administer the grants described in subsection (1): (a) Develop a standard application process, grantee reporting requirements, and any other necessary documentation, including sponsorship information as specified under subsection (3). (b) Establish a process to review, complete, and execute a grant agreement with a grant recipient. The department or agency shall not execute a grant agreement unless all necessary documentation has been submitted and reviewed. (c) Verify to the extent possible that a grant recipient will use funds for a public purpose that serves the economic prosperity, health, safety, or general welfare of the residents of this state. (d) Review and verify all necessary information to ensure the grant recipient is reasonably able to execute the grant agreement, perform its fiduciary duty, and comply with all applicable state and federal statutes. The department or agency may deduct the cost of background checks performed as part of this verification from the amount of the designated grant award. (e) Establish a standard timeline to review all documents submitted by grant recipients and provide a response within 45 business days stating whether submitted documents by a grant recipient are sufficient or in need of additional information. (3) A sponsor of a grant described in subsection (1) must be a legislator or the department or agency. A legislative sponsor must be identified through a letter submitted by that legislator's office to the department or agency and state budget director containing the name of the grant recipient, the intended amount of the grant, a certification from that legislator that the grant is for a public purpose, and specific citation of the section and subsection of the PA that authorizes the grant, as applicable. If a legislative sponsor is not identified before January 15, 2025, the department or agency shall do 1 of the following: (a) Identify the department or agency as the sponsor. (b) Decline to execute the grant agreement. (4) An executed grant agreement under this section between the department or agency and a grant recipient must include at least all of the following: (a) All necessary identifying information for the grant recipient, including any tax and financial information for the department to administer funds under this section. (b) A description of the project for which the grant funds will be expended, including tentative timelines and the estimated budget. The department or agency shall not reimburse expenditures that are outside of the project purpose, as stated in the executed grant agreement, from appropriations in part 1. (c) Unless otherwise specified in department or agency policy, a requirement that funds appropriated for the grants described in subsection (1) may be used only for expenditures that occur on or after the effective date of this act. (d) At the discretion of the department or agency, a provision for an initial disbursement of 50% to the grant recipient on execution of the grant agreement consistent with part II, chapter 10, section 200 of the Financial Management Guide. (e) A requirement that after an initial 50% disbursement under subdivision (d), additional funds will be disbursed only after verification that the initial payment has been fully expended in accordance with the project purpose. The department or agency shall disburse the remaining funds after the grantee has provided sufficient documentation, as determined by the department or agency, to verify that all expenditures were made in accordance with the project purpose. (f) A requirement for reporting by the grant recipient to the department or agency that provides the status of the project and an accounting of all funds expended by the grant recipient, as determined by the department or agency. (g) A claw-back provision that allows the department of treasury to recoup or otherwise collect any funds that are declined, unspent, or otherwise misused. (5) If appropriate to improve the administration or oversight of a grant described in subsection (1), the department or agency may adopt a memorandum of understanding with another state department or agency to perform the required duties under this section. (6) A grant recipient shall respond to all reasonable information requests from the department or agency related to grant expenditures and retain grant records for a period of not less than 7 years, and the grant may be subject to monitoring, site visits, and audits as determined by the department or agency. The grant agreement required under this section must include signed assurance by the chief executive officer or other executive officer of the grant recipient that the requirements of this subsection will be met. (7) The grant recipient shall expend all funds awarded and complete all projects not later than September 30, 2029. If at that time any unexpended funds remain, the grant recipient shall return those funds to the state treasury. If a grant recipient does not provide information sufficient to execute a grant agreement not later than June 1, 2025, the department or agency shall return funds associated with the grant to the state treasury. (8) The state budget director may, on a case-by-case basis, extend the deadline in subsection (7) on request by a grant recipient. The state budget director shall notify the chairs of the house of representatives and senate appropriations committees not later than 5 days after an extension is granted. (9) The department or agency shall post a report in a publicly accessible location on its website not later than September 30, 2025. The report must list the grant recipient, project purpose, and location of the project for each grant described in subsection (1), the status of funds allocated and disbursed under the grant agreement, and the legislative sponsor, if applicable. (10) As applicable, the legislative sponsor of a grant described in subsection (1) shall comply with all applicable laws concerning conflicts of interest in seeking a direct grant. A legislative sponsor shall not seek a grant for a recipient if a conflict of interest exists. (11) If the department or agency reasonably determines that the funds allocated for an executed grant agreement under this section were misused or that use of the funds was misrepresented by the grant recipient, the department shall not award any additional funds under the executed grant agreement and shall refer the grant for review following internal audit protocols.".