LANSING – Governor Rick Snyder will be able to promote development of a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, but he will not be able to use any state funds to build it under budget conference reports adopted Tuesday.

The budgets for both the Department of Transportation (SB 185 ) and general government (SB 177 ) include provisions prohibiting state funds for construction of the bridge.

“This is without prejudice to whether there’s going to be a new bridge, but until there is, we’re not allocating any funds,” said Sen. John Pappageorge (R-Troy), chair of both conference committees.

The general government budget prohibited use of any public/private partnership funds toward the bridge and the Transportation budget prohibited use of highway funds.

Transportation will also be using $50 million in toll credits from the Ambassador Bridge, whose owners have been fighting construction of the new bridge.

“We chose to use the Ambassador Bridge credits without prejudice to whether there will be another bridge,” Pappageorge said. “Why? Because this $50 million was assured.”

For general government, the conference spent slightly less than the governor’s recommendation at $3.897 billion, $724.74 million general fund. The budget represents a 17.3 percent gross and 22.7 percent general fund increase over current year, but most of that is the result of programs moved into the Department of Treasury.

The conferees adopted Snyder’s proposal for an Economic Vitality Incentive Program in place of statutory revenue sharing. The budget provides a total of $215 million for the program, which provides funds based on communities’ ability to meet certain reform goals. Of the funding, $15 million is one-time sales tax funds.

The budget provides a similar one-time $15 million for county revenue sharing after cutting its traditional funding base by $14.7 million to $100 million.

The one-time funding section also provides $25 million for the state’s film tax credit and $50 million to the Strategic Fund for business attraction and economic gardening.

Business attraction sees a total of $100 million under the proposal, and at least $20 million of that has to be used for brownfield and historic tax credits.

The section also provides $60 million to the Department of Technology, Management and Budget for post-employment benefits and $1.25 million for asbestos abatement in the former Department of State Police headquarters.

Largely, the rest of the budget follows Snyder’s recommendations, except for a couple of increases agreed to in target setting, as follows:

? Attorney General: $74.59 million gross (up 1.6 percent), $28.37 million GF (down 0.7 percent)

? Civil Rights: $13.73 million gross (up 7.4 percent), $10.68 million GF (down 2.7 percent)

? Executive Office: $4.399 million GF (down 5 percent)

? Legislature: $100.33 million gross (down 2 percent), $98.57 million GF (down 2 percent)

? Auditor General: $15.64 million gross (up 4.3 percent), $10.597 million GF (down 5 percent)

? State: $211.89 million gross (down 0.8 percent), $11.29 million GF (down 18.9 percent)

? Technology, Management and Budget: $1.02 billion gross (up 4.4 percent), $310.86 million GF (up 3.7 percent)

? Treasury: $2.46 billion gross (up 27.7 percent), $249.98 million GF (up 106.7 percent)

TRANSPORTATION: The department, for the first time in some time, will see an infusion of general fund.

The budget provides $3.33 billion, nearly all state and federal transportation funds.

In addition to the $50 million in toll credits, the budget also uses $49 million in carry-forward from the current budget to cover federal highway fund matching requirements.

The conference rejected the House proposal to shift $20 million in Comprehensive Transportation Fund money, specifically from local bus operating and capital funds, to roads and bridges. It also rejected the Senate proposal to shift $15 million in CTF bus funds to the general fund.

But it added $500,000 general fund to cover maintenance on two swing bridges in the state.

The conference struck a boilerplate provision that required the department to expand its women- and minority-owned business program, finding that the provision was already included in federal law. But Pappageorge told Sen. Glenn Anderson (D-Westland), who offered but then withdrew an amendment to restore the language, that it would be considered in a future supplemental if needed.

Another of Anderson’s amendments was rejected that would have restored language that required certain placement of construction zone signs. Mr. Anderson said the signs were needed to ensure worker safety, but Rep. David Agema (R-Grandville) said industry officials had indicated the placement required actually made the work zones more dangerous.

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