Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall kicked the 2025 legislative session into high gear on Tuesday, appointing Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, as new Appropriations chair and announcing changes in the budget process.
Bollin previously served as a member of House Appropriations. In each of her first three terms, she established a record of eliminating waste and demanding efficiency in the state budget process.
“This will be a principled budget – not a political budget. We have to ensure funding reflects our values funding essential services. I look forward to working across the aisle with our Senate counterparts and the governor for a sustainable, fiscally responsible budget on behalf of taxpayers,” Bollin said.
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The Appropriations Committee holds the responsibility of overseeing and deciding which various state departments or programs receive funding to operate for the next fiscal year.
A significant change to the budget is the restructure of various subcommittees to better prioritize essential services and critical infrastructure.
Hall pointed out that half of the state’s budget is allocated for the Department of Health and Human Services with little oversight on the various health topics the department manage.
In an effort to build more accountability in the appropriations process, Republican leadership created new subcommittees that will manage DHHS’s budget:
- Medicaid and Behavioral Health: Focus on Medicaid’s federal dollars and state connections, including Medicaid financing, Healthy Michigan, the long-term Medicaid budget outlook, and behavioral health services.
- Human Services: Focusing primarily on public programs with a client-focused individual impact, including temporary aid for needy families, public assistance programs, child welfare programs, juvenile justice, and local field operations.
- Public Health: Focusing on public programs with a wider availability and community-wide impact, including community health services, maternal health, aging services, and broader health policy.
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“When I became Oversight chair in 2019, almost every audit I got from state government that was a really bad audit came from DHHS. So I thought we can benefit from 3 subcommittees really digging into these issues partnering with the oversight committees,” Hall said.
The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential, which focuses on preparing students during school from early childhood education through skilled-trades or postsecondary education, will be included in the same subcommittee as Higher Education and Community Colleges instead of the Labor Department’s budget.
Judiciary and Corrections budgets will be combined into one subcommittee as reflection of their related work and functions.
Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, was appointed majority vice chair, and Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, will be the minority vice chair for House Appropriations.