Governor Tom Vilsack says Tuesday, September 7th is now firmly set as the date for the special legislative session to revive the state’s main economic development fund. Vilsack, who is a democrat, says the deal he’s struck with republicans lawmakers who control the legislature’s debate agenda appears to be getting the seal of approval from a major business group. Vilsack says the Association for Business and Industry’s board unanimously endorsed the “compromise framework” Vilsack and the G-O-P hammered out. The business group also endorsed the idea of plugging 100-million dollars into the “Iowa Values Fund” — an amount that would pay the already-promised grants as well as leave as much as 40 million dollars for state officials to hand out to new or expanding businesses in the next five months.
