House Appropriations Committee holds straw poll to request conference on Budget Adjustment Act after housing-assistance questions

The House Appropriations Committee voted in a straw poll Wednesday to request a committee of conference on the Budget Adjustment Act (Act 790), after members raised questions about a housing-assistance contingency and language affecting Section 8 and food banks.

Unidentified Speaker 1 opened the committee, said the bill sent out was generally acceptable, but noted "some changes around section 8" and other small language shifts that made it sensible to seek a conference committee to reconcile differences between chambers. The speaker said the committee had met with the Joint Fiscal Office and others to tighten language and avoid actions "that HUD disapproves of that would hurt the housing authorities and therefore the tenants." (Unidentified Speaker 1)

Unidentified Speaker 2 asked for a drafting clarification on the contingency from the Senate and proposed changing the flat figure from "$5,000,000" to phrasing such as "up to $5,000,000" to preserve flexibility. Unidentified Speaker 1 said staff will aim to tighten the language and to avoid long-term impacts on housing programs.

Members also discussed a separate reference in the transcript to a $50,000,000 set-aside, which Unidentified Speaker 1 described as reserved for its stated purpose and not available to be repurposed for unrelated budget needs. The committee briefly queried procedural options for budget presentation format.

The clerk conducted a roll call-style straw poll. Representatives recorded as voting "yes" included Representative Luling, Representative Dickerson, Feltes, Representative Rooki, Representative Michael, Representative Steven, and Representative Giacoboni. The clerk characterized the tally as favorable. The transcript does not record a formal mover or seconder for the motion.

Unidentified Speaker 1 said the committee will take the request to the House floor this afternoon and coordinate logistics with staff before going off live.

Next steps: the committee's staff and the Joint Fiscal Office will refine the contingency language and the committee will formally seek a conference appointment on the floor later the same day. The straw poll recorded support but does not itself finalize statutory text or enact changes; any final adjustments must be resolved through the formal conference process or subsequent chamber action.