April 19, 2007
We are now in the last two weeks of this session. The first session is to last up to 110 days, and the ending date is April 27. At this point, legislators are no longer paid for their expenses of staying in Des Moines. It quickly causes things to wrap up.
Billions of your tax dollars will be designated for the coming budget year to pay for all the services the state provides. The majority party’s budget targets for FY 08 spend $5.830 billion, which is $530 million, or 10% more than last year’s budget. This, by far, is the largest budget increase for many years.
The Health and Human Services bill appropriates $1.144 billion from the General Fund or $109 million more than in FY 07. Much of the cigarette tax is transferred to this budget bill.
Education Budget spending increases the budget by 14% and includes new programs such as universal preschool. Some other increases include allowable growth $100 million, preschool at $15 million, Community Colleges at $12.4 million, Tuition Grants at $2.1 million and Regents at $25 million. Other commitments include a $70 million increase for teacher pay for 2008 and an additional $75 million in 2009. An increase of $41 million for Regents salaries are in the Standings bill.
The Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) is mainly funded from gaming revenues. It is used for the vertical infrastructure projects across the state. These include the dredging of Clear Lake, repair and restoration of government buildings, as well as a new building at the U of I that will house the Institute of Biomedical Discovery. The controversial Embryonic Stem Cell research will be conducted here. I am lead sponsor on an amendment which supports adult stem cell, and amniotic fluid, and cord blood research, but strips out embryonic research.
This year this state will receive $207 million in gambling revenue. The first $60 million goes to the General fund. The balance, $144.9 million is spent on infrastructure. As you can see all the money has been spoken for and there will be little carry-over.
The standings Bill will start in the Senate and includes salaries ($107 million) increase for state employees and a multitude of appropriations missed early in the session. Many of the Senators’ “pet projects,” we call them “pork” also are included. This bill always brings a lot of debate.
Other budget bills are AG and DNR, Economic Development, HITT (Tobacco Trust) and Justice.
Am I concerned about the direction our budgets are going? You bet I am.
As I look ahead, I question whether we can sustain this huge increase in spending. Revenues will have to continue at a record rate if we are to support this budget proposal in the out years.
Dennis Prouty, Director of the Legislative Service Bureau, has warned us of flattening revenues. The concern is that increasing taxes and spending at an uncertain time for the economy is a recipe that sets the state up for a fiscal mess in the coming years.
Last week, on the floor of the House, Minority Leader, Christopher Rants, revealed for the first time, the list of the built-in spending for FY 09. Previous estimates had been $400 million, but the truth is it is going to be very close to $.750 billion by the time we adjourn this session.
Here is another way to look at this. General Fund revenues have increased $1.2 billion over the last ten years. The average annual increase in the budget over the past decade has been $169 million annually.
This year the budget will increase over $500 million. Next year, with the build-ins, the budget will grow a total of $1.2 billion over two years. In two years, the budget increase will match the General Fund increase over the last decade. It took thirteen years under Republican control to increase the budget by $1.5 billion.
That means the budget for 2009, before we come back next year, is over 12% more that the budget we are working on this year. State Revenues are growing at a rate of 6.5%. There is no way we can sustain this level of spending without a major tax increase.
This year this legislature has raised taxes $144 million, primarily with the cigarette tax increase. Where will the Legislature find the money it needs next year?
United States Supreme Court Upholds Partial Abortion Ban
In a landmark ruling on April 18, the United States Supreme Court upheld a national ban on partial birth abortions. The 5-4 decision marks the first time the court has upheld a prohibition of a specific procedure in the long battle over abortion. I am delighted with this outcome.
The law, adopted by the Republican-led Congress and signed by President Bush in 2003, banned the procedure, which is performed in the final trimester of pregnancy. This action was taken in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in 2000 overturning Nebraska’s state ban on the procedure. That law was the same as Iowa’s ban, which was adopted in 1998 and summarily ruled unconstitutional by Judge Robert Pratt.
The court’s objection at that time was that the ban did not make exceptions to protect the health of the mother and thus placed an undue burden on the mother’s right to choose. The 2003 act asserted the procedure is gruesome, inhumane and never medically necessary to preserve a woman's health, which was intended to help the law overcome the health exception to restrictions.
The opinion upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was written by Justice Kennedy, who was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.
In her lead dissent, Justice Ginsburg claimed that the majority opinion was “alarming” and that the majority had refused to take previous court decisions seriously.
Because the upheld law is a national ban, the Iowa Legislature does not have to take any action to prohibit the performance of partial birth abortions in the state of Iowa.
Visitors to the Capitol
The 3rd grade class of Williamsburg, along with teachers & sponsors.
I would appreciate your input. My phone number at the Capitol is 515-281-3221, or e-mail me at betty.deboef@legis.state.ia.us. I would welcome visitors at the Capitol, too!