New Effectiveness Office Created In Senate’s LARA Budget

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/22/2025) DOGE it is not.

A proposed Regulatory Effectiveness Office within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) will attempt to find efficiencies within Michigan’s regulatory environment while maintaining consumer protection, but not with the abrasiveness of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, a state Senator said on Tuesday.

The office will come back by March 30, 2026, with recommendations on actions the Legislature can take to smooth out the state’s regulatory process. The new office will also come back with a report on how many days, on average, it takes to approve a license.

The new office is part of the Senate changes to a department spending plan that ended up being the first budget to move out of subcommittee in the 2025-26 budget-planning cycle.

Sen. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.), chair of the Senate’s LARA Appropriations Subcommittee said she took a fine-tooth comb to the $585 million Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 LARA budget to find $7 million in funding from last year’s spending plan.

“We wanted to make some cuts, but you’ll also see some shifts in full-time positions to make sure we open up an effective office,” Cavanagh said.

Other changes included in the Senate’s LARA budget, SB 178 , include:

- Retaining the Michigan Saves program that gives out grants and loans to those making clean energy improvements to their homes and businesses. The $5 million program was cut from the Governor’s proposal, but was brought back at a combined $4.5 million by the Chair to include a sewer repair component.

- A new full-time Public Service Commission employee to help consumers with utility issues.

- Keeping the Bureau of Fire Services' $1 million smoke detector program.

- Bringing back the $1 million Cannabis Social Equity Program that is funded out of the Marihuana Regulation Fund. The Governor had cut this program out of her budget, as well.

Oops! DIFS Budget Includes Somebody’s Notes In It

The Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) budget that moved out of a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday to the full appropriations committee included someone’s drafting notes within the bill text.

SB 178 addresses the public release of legislative and administrative grant requests, but includes on page 15 the following note, “How is the state budget office supposed to do something on or before the effective date of this act?”

Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) brought up the staff notes, which were bolded and underlined in the bill text, during Tuesday’s Senate DIFS Appropriations Subcommittee, suggesting that the Chair and the subcommittee take some time to proofread the recommendation before it’s voted on.

Chair Cavanagh rolled through the concern, by saying the vote was “The first step in the process” and proceeded with the vote.

Asked by the media after the subcommittee about the typo, Cavanagh said human error does occur, there are “several eyes” on the budget bills every step of the way and that she will follow up on the matter.

Otherwise, the $78.9 million DIFS budget that moved out of subcommittee adds $849,200 and five full-time employees to the office. It also sets aside $330,000 more for the Attorney General to address the growth in civil and criminal cases referred by DIFS.

Both budgets moved 2-1 with Theis voting no and Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) voting yes with the chair.