The Iowa legislature may conclude its 2024 session later today or on Saturday. A plan to cut Iowa income taxes by a billion dollars next year is on the debate agenda, along with bills that outline a state spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1.
“Inch by inch,” Representative Gary Mohr, a Republican from Davenport who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said of budget negotiations. “We’re very close.”
Total state spending in the next fiscal year will top $8.9 billion. “We feel very good about the agreed upon numbers, what we’re going to do with those dollars to provide government, but also give some of it back to the people of Iowa,” Mohr said.
Republican lawmakers intend to spend 92% of expected tax revenue. Unspent tax revenue is being funneled to the plan to have a flat state income tax of 3.8% next year.
“Our first mission here is always give money back to the taxpayers,” said Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs who is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Representative Dave Jacoby, a Democrat from Coralville, said a flat tax benefits the richest Iowans and a better approach would be targeted cuts for low and middle income Iowans. “We’re not giving them more money back as we should,” Jacoby said during a House Ways and Means Committee meeting Thursday.
Lawmakers debated late last night, approving several parts of the state budget. Community colleges will get a 3% increase in general state funding, The state’s three universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City are each getting a 2.5% increase in state funding. The Iowa Tuition Grant program — for students at private colleges and universities — is getting a 2.5% funding increase as well.
“It’s not a perfect bill, but it’s a good bill,” Taylor said during Senate debate Thursday. “With these budget bills, especially on something as complex and important as education, you would expect that the final result is going to be something of a compromise between the House and the Senate. That’s the nature of how things work around here.”
Senator Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, said state funding for Iowa’s community colleges and three public universities hasn’t kept up with inflation for more than a decade. “It shifts the financial burden to our students and our families,” Winckler said during Senate debate.
The board that governs the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa has not yet set tuition rates for the fall semester.