Gov. Rick Snyder offered universities a slight increase in higher education funding for fiscal year 2013, provided they perform in a few key areas.

More degrees completed.

Better graduation rates in key skill areas, like math and science.

Tuition increases kept to 4 percent or less.

Snyder's proposal calls for a 3 percent overall increase in higher education funding, translating to a range from 0.9 percent to 7.6 percent for individual universities based on their performance in the key areas identified as well as the number of Pell Grant recipients at each school. It adds up to an additional $36.2 million, all from the general fund. Total university funding for 2013 would come to $1.4 billion, of which $1.1 billion comes from the general fund.

The $48.2 billion budget recommendation reverses a decade of cuts by suggesting humble increases in many categories, including education and public safety.

The state was left with a $60 million bill for fiscal year 2012 when the court overruled a piece of the legislation that granted exemptions on the basis of household resources. It ruled this created a graduated tax, which is illegal under the 1963 constitution.

It's a statement no one in Michigan has had the joy of uttering in a decade, but it's true: The state has money. More money than lawmakers and economists thought it would.

Eight months after the May 2011 revenue estimating conference, the state coffers hold $434 million more than the Lansing lawmakers and analysts predicted, said John Nixon, the Director of the State Budget Office. However, this is less than half of the amount of the fantastic figures that have been tossed around in the past few months because much of the balance already was committed, he said.