The 51 republicans in the Iowa House have decided the state cigarette tax does NOT have to be raised in order to balance next year’s state budget. Representative Bill Dix, a republican from Shell Rock who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, says a tax increase is not necessary. Earlier this afternoon (Thursday), Dix unveiled the budget outline republicans in the House plan to pursue. The House G-O-P proposes a state budget of four-point-eight BILLION dollars. Dix says that’s about a four percent increase over the present year. It amounts to 240 million more spending. “It seems to me that a four percent increase for state government, meeting our key priorities, is enough for government,” Dix says. The republican spending plan calls for 40 MILLION dollars more in spending on community colleges, the state universities, and teacher salaries. That’s less than what the Governor has called for. In total, Vilsack wants to spend 200 MILLION more than what the House Republican plan would allow. Democrats say the republican plan falls short in several key areas. Senate Co-Leader Michael Gronstal, a democrat from Council Bluffs, says it’s “unacceptable” to fail to spend more money in key areas, like boosting teacher pay. Gronstal says average teacher pay now ranks 38th in the country, and he says that’s unacceptable and unfair to the graduating seniors at Iowa colleges who must look to other states to earn a good salary in their first classroom job. Gronstal says democrats in the Senate will hopefully work out a compromise budget with Senate republicans that will be much different than the plan outlined today by republicans in the House. “A budget that borrows most of the money from other funds that will dry up isn’t an honest budget,” Gronstal says of the House G-O-P plan. Gronstal suggests the republican plan is “short-sighted” and will lead to more state budget cutbacks, like closed courthouses, while doing nothing to raise teaacher salaries.

Republicans in the House are proposing what they say is a lower-cost, less-red-tape alternative to the 39-MILLION dollar early childhood initiative Governor Tom Vilsack has called for. Representative Royd Chambers, a republican from Sheldon, says the governor “means well,” but his plan is too far reaching. Chambers says the governor’s proposing a “massive increase” in state spending on preschool and new, “government dictates” on preschools. Chambers says there are “well over 12-hundred” preschools in Iowa, the majority of which are privately-run. “There is no data, there is no indication, there is no proof that those privately-run preschools aren’t doing a good job,” Chambers says. He and the other House republicans say they don’t want to force preschools to be accredited by the state and meet minimum requirements, like educational standards. “It just adds to the expense of running these preschools and I don’t think it’s necessary,” Chambers says. The House Republicans say there are already three state agencies that are providing some services to parents of preschoolers, and those programs aren’t coordinated. Chambers says the G-O-P plan would place all those programs under one roof and hire an administrator to run all of ‘em. In addition, they propose providing nearly eight million dollars to help low-income parents pay preschool tuition. Governor Tom Vilsack calls the republican plan a start. “I appreciate House Republicans working on this issue,” Vislack says. “I think that proposal represents not a head start but a good start to discussions.” Vilsack says there are 227-thousand Iowa kids under the age of six, and most of their parents find it tough to find quality child care. Vilsack wants to provide higher state subsides to poor Iowans who work but can’t afford child care as well as grants to students who study preschool education. Vilsack also disputes Chambers’ contention that there is no problem with the quality of preschool available in Iowa. “In visiting with people all across the state, there is in fact a lack of access because providers won’t take the children and because parents can’t afford the costs of child care,” Vilsack says. “Our program addresses both.” Senate Co-Leader Michael Gronstal, a democrat from Council Bluffs, says Vilsack’s plan is what should be pursued because there’s a need to establish quality standards for child care operations in the state. Gronstal says it’s “pennywise and pound foolish” not to do a better job in early childhood education, since research shows 90 percent of a kid’s intellectual capacity is determined by the age of five. Today, dozens of community college students who’re earning a degree in preschool education and other advocates for preschool care are at the statehouse, asking legislators to back the governor’s approach.

Governor Tom Vilsack has asked state officials to review any records that might relate to the plight of a 10-year-old Winterset girl found living in appalling conditions. The girl’s father and his girlfriend are charged with child endangerment for locking the child in a room of their home, and investigators have said the room was bare without even a light, and its only window was covered. Vilsack says the Madison County Attorney has suggested state social workers had “advance notice” of the girl’s situation. “I wanted to find out exactly what we knew and when we knew it and what our reaction was,” Vilsack says. “From that we’ll determine whether there need to be additional steps taken to improve our program. I mean, this is our committment — to try to take care of children.” Vilsack says the state is not perfect and has a long way to go in its efforts to ensure the safety of children. Vilsack says he hasn’t yet reviewed the documents, but will be communicating with state Department of Human Services officials once he’s read the reports. Thirty-nine-year-old Jon Neely and his girlfriend, Kimberly Holtmyer, made a court appearance yesterday (Wednesday) after posting bail following their arrest on child endangerment charges.

Governor Tom Vilsack says he doesn’t feel as if he need to issue a “cease and desist” order to the people who’ve put up a website urging him to seek a third term as governor.”I am not going to run for a third term,” Vilsack says. “I don’t have any control over what people do on the Internet. If I did, there’d be a lot of changes on the Internet. We’d be a lot less garbage on it.” As Radio Iowa reported earlier, a group that refuses to identify itself has launched a www.votevilsack.com website, saying Vilsack’s too smart, too young and too effective to retire after just two terms. “If it’s a friently gesture, I appreciate the gesture but it’s not something that’s going to change my mind,” Vilsack says. “If it’s an unfriendly gesture, it’s unfortunate because I think both parties will have strong candidates and it will be a good, vigorous debate about the future of this state as it should be next year.” A few high-profile names are listed on the www.votevilsack.com webiste as backing the idea of a third go-round for governor, including Jerry Crawford, a Des Moines attorney who was chairman of Kerry’s Iowa campaign and Gordon Fischer, a Des Moines attorney who just completed a two-year term as chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.