Category: Local

News from the Hill…

This week there wasn’t any floor action on the Iowa House Floor to make time for the subcommittees and committees to meet.  Once the week is complete there will be a lot fewer bills that will be eligible for debate.  This time of year there are people happy to see some bills survive and some bills not survive.  At the same time there are people unhappy to see some bills survive and others not survive.  So the process is a lot like life, it is all about one’s perspective.

Education Funding…

There has been a lot of talk about K-12 education funding lately. Schools are funded by a mixture of taxes coming from state collections, property taxes, sales taxes and income surtax.  In addition there is a few dollars that comes from the Federal Government, but they are taxes also.  Over the last five years the state has increased the amount of money sent to the school districts $570 million, a nearly 22% increase.  The total investment made by taxpayers to K-12 education on a statewide average is about $10,200 per student per year.  The amount most often talked about is the dollars in the Foundation Formula, or the State Cost per Pupil, which is $6,366 per student per year.  But the foundation formula only makes up a portion of the investment by taxpayers.  The State Legislature sets the Foundation Formula which is made up of state tax collections and property taxes.  This growth quite often in the past has been referred to as a percentage of increase.  This year the Iowa House has passed an increase of 1.25% increase, which would equate to a total of $6,446 per student.  The Iowa Senate has passed an increase of 4% increase, which would equate to a total of $6,620 per student.  Doesn’t seem that far apart.  However, the difference between the total additional dollars is $112 million dollars that the state doesn’t have.  The total increase from the Iowa House plan totals about $98 million of that there is about $48 million additional dollars in the Foundation Formula and $50 million towards teacher leadership package.   The total increases of new spending from the Iowa Senates plan would be $159 and 51 for a total of $210 million.  This year the State of Iowa has an additional $200 million to spend over what was spent last year.  The House plan commits approximately half of the new money to K-12 education.  That leaves an additional $100 million to invest in Health and Human Services, Public Safety, and Natural Resources.  There will have to be cuts made at the state level to fund the schools at 1.25% increase.  The question to the Iowa Senate would be, if you want to increase spending $210 million to the schools, where are you going to make the cuts that will need to be made?  This is what they don’t want to tell you that they want to charge it to the credit card and worry about how to make that up next year.  Well I have seen what happens when government spends money like that before, taxpayers always lose.

Commerce Committee…

One of the bills that survived the funnel and was passed out of the Commerce Committee this week was HSB 104.  This bill is the Governor’s broadband bill to help expand the availability of broadband in Iowa.  The bill establishes a grant program, but because of the lack of available funds there isn’t any money to be awarded at this time.  The bill does establish criteria for the application and selection in the grant program.  The grant cannot be greater than 10% of the total cost of the project and has to be used on broadband infrastructure that has the capability of twenty-five megabits of speed downloading and three megabits upload speed.  The broadband infrastructure has to be installed in an area that does not have those speeds available at the time of installation.

Your Opinion Matters…

I always appreciate the people who take the time to write a letter, send an email or contact me about what is important to them.  I personally read everyone; I don’t always respond if there does not seem to be a response warranted.  The best way I can represent you is to know where you stand on the issues.  That does not mean we will always agree, but certainly respect your opinion.  I try to base my decision on facts, not emotion.  I try to do what is in the best interest of the people of the district I represent, not just a few.  I have told people every year that I would not permit politics to remove my integrity, my integrity is still intact.  I have said that I would be willing to make the tough decisions when others buckle at the knees.  I have been able to stand my ground and make the tough decisions when necessary to do what is in the best interest of the people of the district and state.

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow.  The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”  – Abraham Lincoln

For more information on these and other bills:  www.legis.iowa.gov

Until next time,

Tom Sands

News from the Hill…

The bill to increase the fuel tax seems to be gaining momentum this week.  The big question is will the bill pass or will it ignite and explode?  This next week is an important week for this debate.  There are two bills, one moving through the process in the Iowa House and the other moving through the process in the Iowa Senate.  Both bills have been passed out of the subcommittee and will be debated in the full Transportation Committee early next week.  If the bill passes out of the Transportation Committee it will be referred to the Ways and Means Committee. Members of the Transportation Committee tend to be more “friendly” to transportation issues, such as funding.  Members on the Ways and Means Committee tend to be more divided on tax issues.  Republicans tend to be hesitant or against raising taxes and Democrats tend to be more willing or open to raising taxes.  There are twenty-five members on the Ways and Means Committee, fourteen Republicans and eleven Democrats.  The bill will need thirteen votes to pass out of committee.  This could be an interesting committee meeting and the bill has to pass out of the Ways and Means Committee before it can be debated on the House or Senate Floor.  I chair this committee and I am considered the gatekeeper for all tax and fee issues.  I am a no vote because I don’t think the bill even comes close to solving the problem and just taking more money from the people of Iowa should not be the answer.  However, I am willing to open the gate if it is the will of the body, because I am not an obstructionist, either.

State Revenues…

State revenues fell in January, raising concerns that the state may not meet last December’s projection for growth during the current fiscal year. January’s General Fund revenue was $29.5 million (-5.0%) below what the state took in during January 2014. This put revenue growth for the first seven months at a positive $152.4 million, or growth of 4.1 percent. While still positive, state revenue had grown by 5.8 percent through December 2014. Compared to the Revenue Estimating Conference’s FY 2015 projection in December, actual revenue growth is behind the 6.8 percent increase projected. In terms of actual dollars, actual returns are $100.6 million behind the REC projection.

Spending and Reserves…

As Iowans continue to discuss the proposed state budget for fiscal year 2016 and the level of funding for Iowa schools, some in the education community are urging legislators to spend beyond on-going revenue to meet local school needs. This point of view seems to forget the past 30 years of Iowa history and ignore the state’s economic condition.

In the 1980’s, Iowa’s economy was suffering the full effect of the farm crisis. State finances suffered due to the loss of revenue and questionable accounting practices.   Schools and local governments were forced to borrow money while they waited for state aid payments, while the Legislature made financial promises it could not keep. The crisis reached a head when the Legislature enacted major budgeting reforms during two special legislative sessions in 1992.

A central tenet of these reforms was the creation of two reserve funds to avoid the mistakes of the 1980’s. The first of the reserve funds is the Cash Reserve Fund, which allows the state to make on-time payments to schools, local governments, health care providers, and others, is required to have an amount deposited in it equal to 7.5 percent of the General Fund budget that year. The Economic Emergency Fund is required to have an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the General Fund budget. It is to be used when the state is experiencing an economic disaster. Each year this amount rises to equal a total of ten percent of the General Fund budget. For Fiscal Year 2015, the amount in the two reserves rose by nearly $50 million to just under $700 million.

When House Republicans took control of the Iowa House in 2011, Iowa’s two reserve funds were not filled to the statutorily-required levels. Governor Culver and Legislative Democrats had spent from the two funds to maintain their spending practices which spent more than the state collected. This fundamentally flawed approach left the two reserve funds $105.8 million short of their statutorily-required levels in fiscal year 2011.

Thanks to fiscal discipline and a strengthening economy, House Republicans were able to restore both the Cash Reserve Fund and the Economic Emergency Fund to their required levels. I will not vote to place the State’s fiscal house in jeopardy, if cuts need to be made so be it. Improving Iowa’s fiscal house has also allowed the state to utilize ending balances in several significant ways.

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

 – Abraham Lincoln

For more information on these and other bills:  www.legis.iowa.gov

Until next time,

Tom Sands