ORGAN & TISSUE DONATION EDUCATION FUND
House Bill 4978
Sponsor: Rep. Kevin Daley
Committee: Transportation
Complete to 9-27-11
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4978 AS INTRODUCED 9-14-11
Public Act 502 of 2004 created Section 217o of the Michigan Vehicle Code to establish an Organ and Tissue Donation Education Fund within the State Treasury and also amended Section 307 to require the Secretary of State to provide an opportunity for an individual to donate $1 or more to the fund when obtaining a driver license.
House Bill 4978 would repeal Section 217o and replace it with new language re-establishing the Organ and Tissue Donation Education Fund. The bill also would strike the language regarding the donations to the fund. Instead, House Bill 4978 is tie-barred to Senate Bill 534, which would authorize the Secretary of State to issue a fund-raising license plate recognizing anatomical gift donations and require the revenue from those plates to be deposited in the Organ and Tissue Donation Education Fund. Senate Bill 534 is assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee.
As is currently the case, the Organ and Tissue Donation Education Fund would be created in the state treasury and the state treasurer could receive money or other assets from any source for deposit into the fund. The treasurer would direct the investment of the fund and credit to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments. Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year would have to remain in the fund and not lapse to the general fund. However, the Department of State would be the administrator of the fund for auditing purposes and would expend money from the fund, upon appropriation, for administration and maintenance of the state anatomical gift donation registry program as described under Part 101 of the Public Health Code.
The bill also makes other technical changes to reflect changes in the names of state departments (for example, the elimination of the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries).
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 4978 shifts administration of the Organ and Tissue Donation Education Fund to the Department of State. The costs of covering the administration of the fund would be covered by the service fee charged by the department for any original or renewal application for the new charitable license plate recognizing anatomical gift donation created under Senate Bill 534 (HB 4978 is tie-barred to SB 534). The FY 2009-10 beginning balance of the Organ and Tissue Donation Education Fund was approximately $3,900. Collections for FY 2009-10 totaled approximately $600. Reviewing charitable license plate data shows that annual collections for the various charitable license plates in FY 2009-10 ranged from a low of $18,100 (Support Our Troops) to a high of $360,500 (USA Plate). Based on this data, changing the revenue generator to a charitable license plate would have a positive fiscal impact on the Organ and Tissue Donation Education Fund.
Fiscal Analyst: Ben Gielczyk
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.