TEMPORARY REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM S.B. 677 (S-1):
FLOOR SUMMARY
[Please see the PDF version of this analysis, if available, to view this image.]
Senate Bill 677 (Substitute S-1 as reported) (as passed by the Senate)
Sponsor: Senator Michelle A. McManus
Committee: Appropriations
CONTENT
The bill would amend Part 215 (Refined Petroleum Fund) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to extend the date by which claims may be submitted for reimbursement under the Temporary Reimbursement Program, and to reduce the minimum amount of claims submitted for reimbursement.
The Temporary Reimbursement Program (TRP) was created in 2006 to provide eligible parties with a reimbursement of up to $50,000 for corrective action costs of refined petroleum product releases. A total of $45.0 million was appropriated from the Refined Petroleum Fund for this purpose. Applicants were required to submit a precertification application to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Once it was approved, corrective action costs incurred on the project within the next 540 days were eligible for reimbursement. Work invoices could be submitted throughout that time period and grantees had 60 days after the 540-day work period to submit any final claims.
For most of the applicants, the 540-day period ended by November 1, 2008. For the rest, the period will end by July 28, 2009. The bill would extend the deadline by which correction action costs may be eligible for reimbursement to September 30, 2009, and would require claims for reimbursement to be submitted to the DEQ by December 29, 2009.
While each applicant may receive up to $50,000 total in reimbursement, there is currently a requirement that work invoices submitted for reimbursement not be less than $5,000, except for the final invoice. This minimum would be lowered to $3,000 under the bill.
MCL 324.21556 & 324.21559
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would cost the State an unknown amount of money from the Refined Petroleum Fund. The appropriation for the TRP was enacted in FY 2006-07 and some of the available funding is expected to go unspent and lapse to the Refined Petroleum Fund. However, if the deadline for making reimbursement claims were extended, fewer dollars would lapse back to the Refined Petroleum Fund and be available for appropriation in the future. The initial appropriation for the TRP was $45.0 million. In FY 2006-07, $70.0 million was transferred out of the Refined Petroleum Fund to support other environmental budget activities. The transfer of the Fund balance reduced the total amount available for the TRP to $39.0 million.
Date Completed: 11-5-08 Fiscal Analyst: Jessica Runnels
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb677/0708