VET. SERVICE FUND GRANTS; MODIFY H.B. 4122 (S-1):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
House Bill 4122 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Sponsor: Representative Annette Glenn
House Committee: Military, Veterans and Homeland Security
Senate Committee: Families, Seniors, and Veterans
CONTENT
The bill would amend Public Act 192 of 1953, which governs the County Veteran Service Fund, to do the following:
-- Specify that money in the Fund could be used to cover necessary administrative and implementation costs incurred by the Michigan Veteran Affairs Agency (MVAA), as specifically appropriated from the Fund.
-- Specify that the MVAA would have to make grants available through its grant program, upon appropriation, to each county that entered into a grant agreement with the MVAA and that met eligibility requirements.
-- Modify the eligibility requirements for a county to receive a grant.
-- Modify the method for determining the total disbursement for each grant under the Act.
-- Require the MVAA to notify the county of its findings and recover any misused grant funds before issuing any new grants to the county if the MVAA determined that a county spent grant funds for purposes other than for related allowable expenditures.
-- Retroactive to the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for the two fiscal years following it, allow the MVAA to suspend the eligibility requirements to receive grant funding to allow a county to use available money in the Fund to form an emergent need relief program.
MCL 35.623a Legislative Analyst: Tyler VanHuyse
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would amend the distribution and expenditure of grants from the County Veteran Service Fund within the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs budget, which would allow for counties to be eligible to receive increased grant support from the Fund. The County Veteran Service Fund grant program depends upon appropriations. It is appropriated at $4.0 million General Fund/General Purpose for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 and is proposed to be appropriated at that amount under the Governor's FY 2021-22 budget recommendations. The bill would revise certain eligibility requirements, which would provide more cost savings to participating counties and would allow more counties to participate in the grant program. It also would allow for the suspension of eligibility requirements to allow for a county to form an emergent need relief program to provide direct financial assistance to veterans.
The bill would shift administrative costs of the program from being assumed by the base budget of the MVAA to funds appropriated for the grant program. The Governor's proposed FY 2021-22 budget designates $200,000 (which equates to 5.0% of the total current Fund appropriation) from the Fund for this purpose.