State budget resolved

LANSING — Lawmakers waited throughout the night for the budget bills to be printed so they could vote on them. At 4:20 a.m. they voted on the budget bills and sent them to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for her signature. Under the compromise package, over $400 million dollars were cut, and at least 25 jobs will be eliminated.

A compromise on the last sticking point — whether or not to privatize parts of the Department of Human Services — was reached. Under the compromise deal, a medium-security juvenile facility at J.W. Maxey Training School will close, sending 60 youthful offenders to private facilities and transferring 130 employees to other DHS locations.

Other cost saving measures in the new budget include:

K-12 Schools will see a one percent increase in per pupil funding. The amount would vary with about $48 more per student in higher funded schools and $96 for the lowest funded schools. The new per-pupil funding rate will be $7,024. Universities will see a one percent increase as well, down from the recommended 2.5 percent that was originally recommended by the Governor. Payments delayed from last year would be made. A needs-based tuition aid for private college students for $57 million remains,  unless Granholm vetoes it.

Community colleges would also see a one percent increase, down from the recommended 2. 5 percent. The amount of funds would vary from community college to community college.

Department of Natural Resources is hoping for an increase in hunting and fishing license fees but the legislature has put the fee increase off for now. That means 80 jobs are on the chopping block and various things such as ski trails could also close.

Department of Environmental Quality is in a similar crunch as the DNR, with permit fees suggested and planned for in budgeting but not approved by the legislature. That means DEQ could be cutting staff and transferring air and water quality permits to the federal government.

The Department of Corrections will see two prisons, a camp and a housing unit close under the new budget. It will also have 500 more prisoners on ankle monitors, and most of these are sex offenders. In seven-bed units in prisons an eighth bed will be added to save money. A work program where prisoners are rented out to local governments to shovel snow and mow grass will be reinstated. The assistance program was discontinued earlier this year because local governments were being charged only $15 per prisoner per day. The fees will now be $30 per prisoner per day.

Social Services may see more adoption and foster care services handed over to private programs, leading to layoffs.

The State Police won’t see any troopers lose their jobs but forensic labs in Marquette and Sterling Heights will close. That means six lab techs in Marquette and 19 in Sterling Heights will be joining Michigan unemployment lines.

The Office of Attorney General Mike Cox will have three mandatory “layoff” days where 500 attorneys, investigators and other staff will have a day off without pay to prevent anymore job cuts in the department.

The Department of Veteran Affairs will cut $413,000 from budgets for the veterans’ homes in Marquette and Grand Rapids. No jobs are expected to be lost.