For the first time since fiscal year 2008, it seems likely the state of Michigan will have a higher education capital outlay program.
The Michigan state legislature on Friday, December 3 passed a higher education capital outlay bill for fiscal year 2011 which began in October. Now we wait for Governor Granholm to sign the bill.
To many of us in the A/E community, this is a surprise. With all the talk about budget deficits in Michigan, our dreams of new state-financed higher education construction projects seemed dim. But House Bill 5858 was passed on Friday and in it are several key projects receiving planning authorizations. Higher education projects receiving planning authorization include:
- CMU – bio-sciences buildin
- GVSU – classroom and office additions
- Lake State – school of business building
- MSU – plant science facilities-bioeconomy project
- NMU – Jamrich Hall modernization
- OU – engineering center
- UM – Ann Arbor – GG Brown
- UM – Flint – Murchie science lab renovations
- UM – Dearborn – science and computer information science building
- WSU – bio-medical research building
- Alpena CC – electrical power technology center
- Bay de Noc CC – nursing lab and lecture hall remodeling
- Delta College – health and wellness project
- Gobebic CC – building renovations
- Grand rapids CC – Cook academic hall renovation
- Jackson CC – student services project
- Lansing CC – arts and sciences building
- Macomb CC – health science and technology building
- Mid-Michigan CC – Mt. Pleasant campus unification project
- North Central Michigan CC – health education and science center project
Along with these planning authorizations, Henry Ford CC, Ferris State University and Monroe County CC received construction authorizations.
Officials at EMU were disappointed to see that Strong Hall was omitted from the list. Strong Hall has been on EMU’s priority list for several years.
Several of these institutions have already chosen A/E teams for their planning and programming projects.
Today we learned that House Bill 5858 was passed late last week. It contains numerous higher education capital outlay projects but no dollars are allocated – only $100 for each project as placeholders. The companion Senate bill, SB 1150 is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee. It too contains higher education projects but only placeholder dollar figures.
Both bills contain a specific cost increase authorization for Oakland University’s Human Health Building project and a specific construction authorization for Henry Ford Community College’s Science Building Improvements project.
Since the Senate will adjourn on Thursday, December 2, SB 1150 must pass the Senate by then or else the bill dies and so does the capital outlay process for this year.
So, if you have friends at the Michigan state Senate, call them now and urge the passage of SB 1150. Once both bills are passed, the politics will get intense and the placeholder dollars will become real numbers. We need a bill on the governor’s desk.
Several of us in Michigan’s A/E community have had the same problem – how to find the annual list of community college and university capital outlay priority projects. This list shows us what our clients and prospects have on their capital improvement “wish lists”.
The listed projects are not private information. They are lists of higher education projects the college or university wants funded through the State of Michigan Building Authority – our state tax dollars.
Some colleges and universities will freely share their 5-year plans and capital outlay priority requests. But call a certain well known University, for example, and you get the runaround. Someone hung up on us there when we called and asked for the information. We actually went to the legislature last year and met with Senators Scott and McManus. They were both very nice…
So, since its tough getting details from the public institutions themselves, here’s how to find the lists as they make their tortured way through the legislative and appropriations process:
- Go to www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa
- State Budget tab
- Capital Outlay link
- Scroll down to Other Budget Information to find the Universities and Community College links.
As far as we know there was no Capital Outlay bill in the 2011 FY budget. We can only hope that as tax revenues increase in the state of Michigan we will see a list of funded higher education capital outlay projects this time next year.
Please leave a comment on this post. Is there an interest in the A/E community to push the legislature to make these lists more transparent? Who will organize this effort?
More spending on campus is needed for FY 2011
With the current Michigan state fiscal year budget in a mess and the prospects for FY 2011 looking just as grim, how can we in the design and construction profession hold out any hope that a higher education capital outlay bill might get approved for FY 2011?
Despite operating budget deficits, it turns out the key is the ability of the state to finance the state building authority bonds used to finance these badly needed projects. According to a source at the Senate Fiscal agency, there is room in the SBA program for a substantial capital outlay program for FY 2011.
The only problem is politics.
While construction projects at public universities and community colleges stimulate local economies and add badly needed jobs to the communities, Lansing politicains seem to be worried more about positioning themselves for the election in November.
We would like to see a capital outlay bill for FY 2011. Goodness knows Michigan’s colleges and universities need new and renovated structures. And we in Michigan’s design and construction industry would love to tackle these new technical projects so badly needed on our campuses today.
Will there be a FY 2011 higher education capital outlay bill?
Michigan House and Senate bills referred to committee in February to finance college and university building and renovation projects are stuck in their respective Appropriations Committees.
Both Senate Bill 1150 and House Bill 5858 seem to be going no where fast. Each bill contains a “zero budget” for higher education spending. The legislature needs to get a bill written and on the Governor’s desk by the end of September if there is to be any higher education spending from the state at community colleges and public universities in FY 2011.
Each year, community colleges and universities submit building construction “wish lists” to the state budget office. If approved, the state pays 75% of the project costs for university projects and 50% of the costs of community college projects.
The largest request from a university this year is from Wayne State University – $200,000,000 for a new multi-disciplinary Biomedical Research Building. The largest community college request is from Oakland Community College – $32,065,000 for the interior renovations and additions on Building A in the Auburn Hills campus.
Design engineers, architects and construction trades benefit from the state’s spending on these big projects. Passage of these bills would provide a huge boost to these employment sectors.
