Plenty of work remains before Iowa’s state government spending plan for the next fiscal year that begins July 1 is completed. This IowaWatch Connection podcast brings you up to date on how this Iowa General Assembly is handling that.
Jeff Stein, IowaWatch Connection host/producer
The background:
The Republican-led Iowa Senate came up this past week with $34 million in spending cuts for this fiscal year, which ends June 30, bringing it closer to cuts the House and governor’s office — both held by Republicans — find to be acceptable.
The cuts are being made to deal with a $34.5 million shortfall in anticipated revenue for this fiscal year’s state budget of more than $7 billion. The Senate scaled back its bill that cuts the funding after originally proposing about $52 million in cuts. Democrats unanimously opposed the Senate bill, saying the shortfall is a result of tax incentives and cuts Republicans have passed for businesses.
House Republicans propose cutting $33.8 million from this fiscal year’s spending plan. State Rep. Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada, said he understood the concept of cutting more than needed but that the House had a better plan.
“We don’t want to come back in March if we get another bad revenue estimate that says, ‘Oh, you know, now you gotta’ cut some more,” he said. “They’re trying to avoid that. And I think we have concern about that, too. But, maybe, the cushion doesn’t need to be quite as large.”
