News from the State House

by State Representative Patti Ruff

The Iowa Senate and Governor Branstad have agreed on a balanced state budget outline this week that proposes spending $7.3 billion next year while leaving the state’s savings accounts full at $700 million with an additional $387 million surplus.
The Senate plan includes a compromise 2.625 percent increase in state support for Iowa’s local schools, which is about $150 million. It calls for a tuition freeze at our state universities for the third consecutive year and fully funding property tax credits as well as a commercial property tax cut approved two years ago. The plan also funds an early retirement incentive plan for eligible state employees that are projected to save the state $16.1 million in the next fiscal year.
The release of budget targets is a significant step for the budget subcommittees and the Appropriations Committees to begin their work in crafting the detailed expenditures of the fiscal year 2016 budget.
However, the House Majority party is insisting on overall spending of $7.175 billion, $166 million less than both the Governor and Senate are proposing, and has yet to release any more details. The delay means the Legislature is unlikely to finish work by the May 1 deadline.
 Iowa law allows the Legislature to spend up to 99 percent of available revenues. The proposals by the Senate and Governor Branstad are both $149.1 million below the state’s 99 percent expenditure limitation. Both the Senate and Governor are at 97 percent of available revenues, as determined by the nonpartisan Revenue Estimating Conference.
April 15th has come and gone. This was the last day that school districts had to submit their certified budgets to the department of education. April 15th came and went and it saw no movement towards a compromise on supplemental state aid. I did not realize how much of an optimist I actually am until this session. I truly thought that when we moved to the 2.625% in SSA that Speaker Paulsen would make a move up from 1.25%. I was wrong. I have worked countless hours trying to settle this impasse and I will continue to do so until that final gavel falls. Our schools deserve so much more than Washington style gridlock.
This week was the memorial service for those legislators who had passed away over the last two years. One of those remembered was the Honorable Roger Halverson from Monona. Roger served in the Iowa House from 1975-1997. My first dabble in grassroots politics was painting signs for Roger when I was a senior in high school. His children and his wife, Connie, made it down for the service.
I am honored to have been appointed to the flood mitigation board by Minority Leader Smith. This is a two year term.
My son, Liam, came down to the Capitol on Wednesday to do a report for his government class. Neither he nor I knew what the day was going to bring. He learned about caucus, debate, votes, amendments, and procedural moves. The surprise of the day was being in the right place at the right time. Liam had the honor of meeting State Treasurer Michael Fiztgerald, Attorney General Tom Miller and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Definitely not your typical day in Des Moines!