Legislature ends regular session, will be back

The Iowa Legislature adjourned its 2002 regular session late last night, but lawmakers will be back in Des Moines soon, as Governor Vilsack says the republican budget plan as too meager. Vilsack says the G-O-P budget is inadequate because it fails to allot enough money for education and health care. In a prepared statement issued late Friday night, Vilsack said he’ll call lawmakers back in special session “as long and as often as it takes” to address his concerns. Republican House Speaker Brent Siegrist (see’-grist) of Council Bluffs says it won’t do any good, because republicans don’t want to spend more. Siegrist says they can’t make it any clearer to the Governor. Siegrist calls the budget lawmakers submitted to Vilsack “their best shot”. House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City says republicans reached their bottom line and there’s no more money to spend because “the cupboard’s bare.” Also yesterday, the Iowa House gave final legislative approval to the bill that establishes new standards for large-scale livestock confinements, and Governor Vilsack says he’ll sign that bill into law. The House adjourned at 10:50 last night; the Senate concluded about 40 minutes later.