Bill
SB 1047
Eliminates the $10M DECF cap while preserving a $2.5M minimum, boosting state disaster aid and federal matching flexibility for state police and affected counties/municipalities.
Status
- Bill purpose: remove the statutory upper cap on the Disaster and Emergency Contingency Fund (DECF) balance while keeping its existing minimum balance requirement.
- Current procedural status (per provided metadata): placed on second reading. Sponsor (Senate version): Senator Sean McCann. Committee: Appropriations (nonpartisan analyses prepared Dec 2024).
What the bill would do (plain language)
- Remove the statutory requirement that the DECF balance “not exceed $10,000,000.”
- Retain the requirement that the DECF balance not fall below $2,500,000.
- All other existing provisions of section 18 of the Emergency Management Act (MCL 30.418) remain in force (fund administration by the director, permitted uses for overtime/travel/subsistence, matching federal disaster grants, investment of fund, and that unexpended DECF monies carry forward).
Policy intent / rationale
- The change gives the DECF greater fiscal flexibility to meet rising demands for state disaster assistance and to provide required state matches when federal disaster declarations occur. Recent experience showed the $10 million cap constrained the fund: supplemental appropriations were needed to meet FY 2023–24 obligations.
Key fiscal details from committee analyses
- The DECF is administered by the Department of State Police and is used to provide state assistance to counties/municipalities after Governor-declared disasters/emergencies and to meet state matching requirements for federal disaster relief (Stafford Act).
- Recent supplemental appropriations: $10.0 million GF/GP in Public Act 121 of 2024 (FY 2023–24) and $10.0 million GF/GP appropriated for FY 2024–25.
- Reported fund balance (at time of analysis): $14.9 million, with projected year-end FY 2024–25 balance of about $3.1 million given anticipated expenditures.
- Fiscal impact: committee staff conclude the bill would have relatively little operational impact on Department of State Police operations but would increase the fund’s flexibility; no major change to state finances is expected solely from removing the cap (amounts depend on legislative appropriations).
Who is affected
- Primary: State emergency management operations (Department of State Police), counties and municipalities that receive state disaster assistance, and the State’s ability to provide matching funds for federal disaster grants.
- Fiscal/appropriations effect depends on future legislative appropriations; removing the cap does not itself appropriate money.
Notes / procedural history highlights
- Sponsor: Sen. Sean McCann (Senate version). Committee fiscal analyses and reports completed in Dec 2024. The measure was reported favorably by Appropriations (committee analysts noted the practical need for flexibility given recent matching demands). Legislative status should be checked in the official legislative docket for latest actions (the provided materials show “placed on second reading”).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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