LANSING – Although the state is waiting to see if its second application for $400 million in federal “Race to the Top” is accepted, a 2010-11 budget for the Department of Education passed Tuesday by the House includes both state and federal dollars for administration of education reforms enacted late last year.

While the state would have to wait and spend $17 million for administration of the reforms, $1.7 million is included for the state’s oversight of reforms not covered by the federal program, like reform officers assigned to failing schools.

The budget in SB 1154, which was reported by the Appropriations Committee earlier in the day, was sent back to the Senate on a nearly partisan vote (61-44). Rep. Vicki Barnett (D-Farmington Hills) was the only Democrat to oppose the bill along with a solid Republican caucus.

But Democrats in committee expressed concern with how the budget affects library operations, particularly the genealogy collection.

The budget allows the state to keep up the collection, but not circulate it or give the public access to it.

Rep. Joan Bauer (D-Lansing) remarked in committee, “I think it’s a pretty sad day for the state of Michigan when we are making cuts, and this saves $350,000, that has such a huge impact on the history of our state.”

Rep. George Cushingberry Jr. (D-Detroit) asked that lawmakers contact the universities to see if there is a way to connect them with the state library system to keep up the collections.

The House budget does add back $350,000 for continued participation in the interlibrary loan program and MeLCat, the Michigan electronic library catalog, and is unchanged from the subcommittee proposal.

While spending for the department is one of the smallest appropriations lawmakers make, the budget totals $132.9 million gross ($21.6 million general fund), which is a $2.2 million or 11.2 percent increase in general fund spending.

The budget is 17.7 percent, or $20 million, above current year spending and $1.6 million above the governor’s recommendation for general fund spending and $1.8 million above the Senate’s DOE budget.

On the floor, Republicans were procedurally dismissed in their attempts to amend the budget to cut 3 percent from the department’s spending and require monthly spending reports to the Legislature.

“We decide what the powers of the purse will be,” Rep. Chuck Moss (R-Birmingham) said before his amendment requiring the reporting was rejected.

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