Vander Linden Capitol Update – January 26, 2017

The Committee process is well under way here at the Capitol. Bills are moving through and some will be debated next week. We are looking at every avenue possible in order to have a balanced budget, provide necessary services, and let Iowans keep their hard earned money. Below you will find some helpful information concerning some issues the legislature is addressing this session. Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

FY 2017 Deappropriations Bill

The state is facing a $117 million shortfall in revenues to maintain the spending levels approved by the 2016 Legislature. To fix this problem, the 2017 Legislature needs to reduce spending levels so they do not exceed revenue.

The state cannot spend money it does not have. When the Legislature adjourned in April, total spending was less than available revenue. Since then revenue has dropped creating the need to reduce costs to maintain a balanced budget and prevent a tax increase.

FY 2017 is the fourth consecutive year where actual revenue to the state will not meet the official forecast from the Revenue Estimating Conference. House Republicans will be looking for ways to help improve the accuracy of the REC’s revenue projections in the future.

In the future holding down overall spending below amounts allowed by the state’s 99% Expenditure Limitation Law.

Thankfully, House Republicans fought off additional spending plans by House Democrats in 2016 totaling $532,181,814. Had those plans been approved, the $117 million hole facing the Legislature today would be bigger.

The FY17 Deappropriations bill conforms to House Republican Budget Principles. The $25.2 million in non-recurring or one-time money is only used once and does not go to on-going expenses. This amount – $25.2 million – is reduced from the funds available for use in FY18. This eliminates the revenue from being built into the FY18 budget and keeps it as non-recurring revenue.

Within the bill, House Republicans have given state agencies flexibility to implement the cuts in the best way possible for their agency. This will help agencies to avoid program disruptions that impact the public.

While the bill includes reduction to state universities, the amount in the bill is less than the amount in the Governor’s proposal. The president of the Board of Regents, Bruce Rastetter, has told the media that this reduction will not result in a tuition increase.

As Iowa’s welfare reform caseload continues to decline, spending on the Family Investment Program has also declined. This allowed the state to use federal funding on other programs, which reduces the reductions to other DHS programs.

House Republicans looked at the possibility at reducing the fiscal impact of tax credits to the budget. The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency said that any changes to tax credits would have little to no positive fiscal impact to the FY 2017 budget.

Education Funding/Policy

Since entering the majority in 2011, House Republicans have been committed to funding schools in a responsible way. Funding for K-12 education has increased by $640 million over the last six years. Most importantly, House Republicans have kept our funding commitments.

The debate around education funding cannot be done in isolation. Each area in the budget is affected by the rest. The level of funding K-12 receives affects the level community colleges, state troopers, corrections, etc. receive. Everything needs to be evaluated and considered as decisions are made.

House Republicans are interested in finding ways to give more flexibility to local school boards. Several school districts have thousands of dollars sitting in funds unused because they are limited to specific purposes. Loosing those restrictions, either temporary or permanently, is a conversation that House Republicans are eager to have.

House Republicans plan on setting Supplemental State Aid quickly. The amount will be something that school districts can rely upon and it will be done responsibly within the state’s revenue.
Total spending on K-12 education now totals more than $3.1 billion, which accounts for 43% of Iowa’s budget. Since Republicans have been in the majority in the Iowa House, funding for schools has increased $640 million. Most importantly, schools have been able to count on funding promises during that time.

Community Colleges

Prior to House Republican control, the Community Colleges weathered a $32 million reduction in state funding during the 2008 recession ($180 million to $148 million from 2009 to 2010). Since taking control in 2011, House Republicans have increased general fund appropriations to the community colleges by $55 million (a 37% increase in funding).

Posted by on Jan 27 2017. Filed under Local News, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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