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$7.4 billion state budget, $2 billion in tax cuts clear 2018 Iowa legislature

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Republican lawmakers passed a more than $2 billion plan to cut taxes over the next six years and they completed work on next year’s $7.4 billion state budget on Saturday. It was the 118th and final day of the 2018 Iowa legislative session.

With Republican Kim Reynolds in the governor’s office and Republicans in the majority in the House and Senate, the GOP controlled the legislature’s agenda. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake praised her GOP colleagues on Saturday.

“You all came together and time after time, you chose real change rather than defending the status quo,” Upmeyer said in a closing speech late Saturday afternoon. “…We stood together for the opportunity to improve the future of Iowa and you can go home to your communities proudly sharing our significant achievements.”

A year ago, in Republicans Governor Terry Branstad’s closing month’s in office, Republican legislators dramatically reduced union bargaining rights for public sector workers and passed a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. On Friday afternoon, Governor Kim Reynolds signed another bill that will basically ban most abortions in Iowa.

“For me, it’s immoral to stop an innocent, beating heart,” Reynolds said during a bill-signing ceremony in her formal office as protesters shouted outside. “…And, for me, my faith leads me to protect life.”

On Saturday, the Republican-led legislature dropped its plan to block federal funding to Planned Parenthood’s sex education programs for teenagers. The premiere action of the legislature’s last day, though, was passage of a massive tax plan that eventually will cut individual and corporate income taxes by 400-million dollars a year.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity I feel that we have today to ensure a prosperous for the future,” Representative Peter Cownie, a Republican from West Des Moines, said.

Democrats dismissed the GOP’s assertions that tax cuts will stimulate economic growth as make-believe “pixie dust” and Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames sid there will be a “flood tide of red ink” in the state budget.

“If this bill becomes law it will be the single most fiscally irresponsible bill in Iowa history,” Quirmbach said.

Mark Smith of Marshalltown, the Democratic leader in the Iowa House, faulted Republicans for keeping final details of the tax bill underwraps until the legislature’s closing hours.

“You chose to work behind closed doors with special interests instead,” Smith said late Saturday afternoon in a speech on the House floor. “The Iowans we represent deserve better.”

House Majority Leader Chris Hagenow, a Republican from Windsor Heights, the Republican-led legislature has taken “consequential” actions over the past two years.

“In November, 2016, Iowans entrusted Republicans to lead the House, Senate and the governor’s office,” Hagenow said in a speech on the closing day. “The message the voters sent was clear: they wanted smaller, smarter, more conservative government.”

The debate over that record will now shift out of the statehouse and onto the campaign trail. Voters in November will select 25 senators and 100 state representatives to serve in the legislature for the next two years.

Senators pondering tax rebate ‘fix’ for Knoxville Raceway

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Senator Bill Dotzler

A “fix it” bill is eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate to help the Knoxville Raceway get the money from a tax break it won in 2014.

The legislature and former Governor Terry Branstad agreed the track should get a rebate on some of the state sales taxes paid on a construction project, plus any sales taxes charged on goods and services sold at the facility. Senator Bill Dotzler, a racing fan from Waterloo who is supporting what he calls a “fix it” bill, said state tax officials failed to create a “Raceway Rebate Fund” for the track.

“It was really a Department of Revenue mix-up,” Dotzler said. “It’s still a mystery, but this bill would allow Knoxville to go back and collect the revenue they already submitted.”

A report from the Legislative Services Agency indicates the Iowa Department of Revenue sent the Knoxville Raceway an $18,012 rebate four years ago, but nothing since then. State officials say the Raceway has failed to designate a construction project that’d be eligible for the rebate. The state has kept more than half a million dollars in sales taxes paid on retail sales at the track the last four years.

A bill that has cleared a senate committee would eventually extend up to $1.8 million in sales tax rebates on items and services sold at the track in Knoxville. Over 200,000 people visit facility each year, but Dotzler said it’s facing competition from a sprint car track in Macon, Illinois co-owned by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

“The racing industry has gone through some troubled times, in a way, and they want to enhance their fan base, so I’m very supportive of the bill,” Dotzler said. “I think it’s a good bill for Iowa.”

The bill isn’t universally popular, though. Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames said the state shouldn’t be giving tax breaks to an entertainment business.

“The raceway — everybody tells me how popular it is, how many people come, how successful it is,”Quirmbach said. “All that does is raise a question in my mind: ‘Why do they need a taxpayer subsidy?'”

The Marion County Fair Association owns the Knoxville Raceway. NASCAR owns the Iowa Speedway in Newton. In 2014, Governor Terry Branstad went to the track to sign legislation extending a sales tax rebate to the Speedway.

No more proficiency exams for would-be teachers if House bill becomes law

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Tom Moore

Republicans in the Iowa House have voted to remove a requirement that college graduates pass an exam before they may be hired as a teacher.

The rule was included in a 2013 education reform plan touted by former Republican Governor Terry Branstad. Republican Representative Tom Moore of Griswold said about 500 people have failed the test and, after spending thousands of dollars on a college degree, they cannot enter the teaching profession.

“It’s a road block for the teacher and the administration that wants to hire them,” Moore said.

Moore, who is a retired teacher, said passing a test doesn’t indicate who’ll be an “excellent teacher” who can command a classroom and connect with students.

“We had high standards before 2013,” Moore said. “Iowa has always been a leader nationally and we didn’t have a darned test to decide whether you were qualified to be a good teacher.”

Moore has a neighbor who got an education degree and a job offer, but failed the test twice.

“I can give you many examples from superintendents and prospective teachers that I’ve spoke with about this,” Moore said, “and it’s simply a barrier.”

Critics say the test shows a prospective teacher is proficient in the subjects they’ll teaching. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, is a retired teacher who opposed the bill.

“We do not want to see a dumbing down of the profession,” Mascher said. “We have standards in place and we have expectations from our teacher prep programs and we do that because not everyone should teach.”

The test is graded on a curve and 96 percent pass. Representative Art Staed, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, has been a teacher for 40 years.

“It is not too strict a test,” Staed says. “It is a standard that may not be considered too high. As a matter of fact, the standard might be considered too low among many circles.”

The test, he said, ensures teachers are “qualified to face the students” in their classrooms. The bill passed the House on a 55-42 vote. It will next be considered by a senate committee.

Eric Branstad to open PR firm office in Des Moines

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President Trump and Eric Branstad

The Branstad who ran Donald Trump’s 2016 general election campaign in Iowa has left the Trump Administration and is returning to consulting work.

Eric Branstad is the oldest son of Terry Branstad, the former Iowa governor who Trump named U.S. Ambassador to China. Eric Branstad had been serving as White House liaison to the U.S. Department of Commerce since Trump took office. His wife and children remained in Des Moines.

Branstad left his D.C. job several weeks ago. Branstad is joining Mercury, a “global public strategy firm” that has companies and politicians as well as other countries as clients. Eric Branstad will be a managing director and will open an office for the firm in Des Moines.

Branstad’s move was first reported this morning by Politico Playbook, a daily newsletter. Eric Branstad had worked as a political consultant before he joined the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016.

Legislators explore ‘fix’ for line of succession in Iowa government

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Governor Kim Reynolds and Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg.

Senate Republicans are crafting a “fix” that would ensure future Iowa governors have the constitutional authority to appoint a lieutenant governor who could also become the state’s chief executive.

After an attorney general’s ruling in May, Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds appointed an “acting” lieutenant governor replacement when Terry Branstad resigned and she became governor. A proposed constitutional amendment would make it clear any future lieutenant governor who takes over in the middle of a governor’s term may appoint a lieutenant governor.

“The constitution is there for the people to tell us what we are to do in these situations,” Republican Senator Roby Smith of Davenport said.

Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, said it was a “unique situation” when Branstad resigned in the middle of his term.

“But it doesn’t mean that it can’t happen again and it could happen very soon,” Bisignano said. “If Senator Grassley did not complete his term, Governor Reynolds could appoint herself and if she did that, we would have a lieutenant governor who can’t assume the position of governor at this time.”

In that scenario, Senate President Jack Whitver would be next in what’s called the “line of succession” and he would become governor.

The proposed constitutional amendment has cleared a senate subcommittee. It has at least four more hurdles to clear this year. The proposal would have to win approval from the House and Senate again in 2019 or 2020 before Iowans would be able to vote on the proposed change to the state constitution.

Whitver says ending state’s property tax replacement payment on the table

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Jack Whitver (file photo)

The president of the Iowa Senate is hinting Republicans are ready to end state payments to cities and counties that were promised to make up for expected lost tax revenue.

The state payments began after the legislature voted in 2013 to roll back commercial property tax rates. Senate President Jack Whitver, a Republican from Ankeny, says $150 million in state tax dollars will be forwarded to cities and counties in the current year — but next year’s payments are up for debate.

“I believe there’s general agreement in the legislature that we don’t want to touch that for the current fiscal year,” Whitver says. “Those cities and counties have already certified their budgets. It would be very difficult for them to go back and change that, but I believe they should be on the table for the next few years.”

The 2013 property tax changes approved by Republican Governor Terry Branstad, the Republican-led Iowa House and Democratically controlled Iowa Senate not only reduced commercial property tax assessments by 10 percent, property taxes for apartments were reduced as well. City officials say the state payments are not compensating for lost tax revenue — and if the state payments end they’ll be forced to cut city services.

Whitver and other Republican leaders argue cities have benefitted from the legislature’s move to reduce property taxes five years ago.

“Many places around the state have seen tremendous growth since then both with assessments and with new buildings and so I believe we should look at phasing that out over time,” Whitver says. “…We obviously don’t want to do something that’s harmful, but ultimately that’s $150 million that we’re paying to the cities and counties that we’d like to phase out. I’d like to phase out.”

In December, Governor Kim Reynolds said she wants to bring city and county officials into the negotiations over if and when the payments from the state end.

Whitver made his comments during a weekend appearance on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program.

Senate GOP’s midyear budget cuts unveiled

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The State Capitol.

Republicans in the Senate have drafted a bill that would pare about $52 million out of the current year’s state budget. It includes nearly $25 million in cuts to the three state universities and 15 community colleges.

Republican Senator Charles Schneider of West Des Moines says cuts are necessary because state tax revenue isn’t meeting projections.

“Families find ways to make things work. That’s what I learned through the recession and that’s what thousands of my co-workers learned through the recession as well,” Schneider says. “And I also learned that those same families expect government to live within its means, too.”

Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the cuts are necessary because former Republican Governor Terry Branstad failed to fulfill his promise to create 200,000 jobs and raise family incomes by 25 percent.

“Republicans like to talk about how they are doing this to Iowans because they are the adults in the room. That’s nonsense,” Bolkcom says. “Iowa families don’t manage their family budgets like this. If they did, they would be in bankruptcy.”

There are a little more than five months left in the current year’s state budget plan. Bolkcom says the nearly $20 million in cuts to the University of Iowa, Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa will lead to higher tuition for students.

“When you have a bunch of people that don’t like government running government, here’s what the results look like and it’s not pretty,” Bolkcom says.

The Senate GOP’s plan does take into account about $12 million in extra tax revenue officials expect in the state treasury due to recent federal tax changes. Schneider, the Republican chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the overall plan provides a “cushion” of about one-half-of-one-percent of total spending, just in case state tax revenues continue to fall below expectations.

“We want to make sure that we’re being fiscally responsible with taxpayers money,” Schneider says. “We want to make sure we’re complying with Iowa law which requires us to pass a balanced budget each year.”

The Senate GOP’s plan cuts more deeply than Republican Governor Kim Reynolds proposed. Schneider says lawmakers want to make sure there’s no need to dip into cash reserves this summer to cover red ink in the state budget, something Reynolds had to do last year.

The budget-cutting proposal will be debated in a senate committee late this afternoon.

House Speaker says lawmakers expect Medicaid ‘to be fixed’

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Linda Upmeyer

The legislature’s top Republican says she and her colleagues expect improvement in how the state’s Medicaid program is being managed.

“I’ve heard loud and clear from each of our members,” says House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, a Republican from Clear Lake. “…They expect this to be fixed.”

On April 1, 2016, when Terry Branstad was governor, Medicaid patients began having their care managed by private companies rather than state employees. Upmeyer says that transition was “bumpy.”

“It has not improved enough fast enough that anyone is comfortable with it,” Upmeyer says. “…Now we’re in a situation (where) we have a new governor, we have a new director of the Department (of Human Services), we have a new Medicaid director…so we’ve got some new components that I’m hoping are going to bring us some new recommendations.”

That new governor — Republican Kim Reynolds — is promising changes.

“But we have to recognize and admit the mistakes that were made and then we need to look at ways that we can move forward,” Reynolds says. “So we have fresh new leadership that we have brought on board that are experts…to, I think, really evaluate it from a fresh set of eyes and make the recommendations that need to be made.”

Reynolds does not have a date for revealing what those recommendations are and the governor says she may have the authority to implement the changes on her own, without any action from the legislature.

House Democratic Leader Mark Smith says the switch to managed care has been a “mess” and a “tragedy.” Some Medicaid recipients complain the private companies are denying them necessary care. Hospitals and other health care providers are complaining the bills for treating Medicaid patients are not being paid in a timely way.

Legislative leaders and Governor Reynolds made their comments about Medicaid yesterday during a statehouse forum organized by the Associated Press.

Branstad back from China to spend holidays with family in Iowa

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Former Governor Terry Branstad. (file photo)

Ambassador Terry Branstad is back home in Iowa for the first time since assuming his post in China. The former Iowa governor attended his brother’s funeral in Leland on Monday and plans to spend the holidays here.

On Wednesday, Branstad worked from a desk in the governor’s office, catching up on ambassador business. An aide stopped him from discussing embassy affairs, but Branstad did reveal that in recent weeks he has travelled to the Chinese border with North Korea.

“I’ve been to Tuman which is on the river that separates Jilin province of China with Korea,” Branstad said. “I was there three days after they had the nuclear test and I met with the party secretary who’s the top person up there and, you know, they felt it.”

Branstad indicated North Korea is one of the top issues he’s addressing as ambassador.

“I think we’re getting gotten more cooperation from China than we’ve ever gotten, but there’s still more that needs to be done to try to convince North Korea that this course they’re on, I mean, this is the most dangerous thing to humankind right now this nuclear and ballistic missile program they are embarked on,” Branstad said.

Branstad’s wife, Chris, his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters who’ve been living in China since this summer accompanied him back to Iowa.

Branstad’s oldest son, Eric, has been working in Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Commerce Department since January, while his wife and kids remained in Des Moines. Branstad’s other son, Marcus, has remained with his family in central Iowa. The Branstads plan to attend Christmas Mass in Des Moines and celebrate Christmas together.

Ambassador Branstad plans to head back to China January 3.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Joyce Russell)

Forum focusing on fixes to Iowa’s mental health care system

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All the Democrats and one of the Republicans running for governor in 2018 will participate in a Tuesday evening forum, to discuss Iowa’s mental health system.

Democratic candidate Nate Boulton, a state senator from Des Moines, has been calling for reopening the two state-run Mental Health Institutes former Governor Branstad closed.

“When those facilities were shut down, the services were lost. They weren’t replaced with anything. There was nothing new that came in to take care of those residents,” Boulton said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “We all know our state needs to be doing more, not less, for mental health care.”

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is challenging Governor Kim Reynolds in the Republican Primary next June. According to Corbett, a fragmented system was made worse by the decision to close the Mental Health Institutes in southern Iowa.

“All that did was compress the system down,” Corbett said during a recent Radio Iowa interview. “The state may have saved some money, but the patients didn’t evaporate, they just got pushed down and, in many cases, on local property taxpayers.”

Corbett said some state-run facility needs to provide 25 to 50 more beds for patients with acute mental illnesses.

Corbett will attend Tuesday’s forum. Governor Kim Reynolds won’t, but she’s sending a short video that will be played for the crowd.

Democratic candidate Fred Hubbell, a Des Moines businessman, took a tour of hospitals and jails around the state last month. Emergency rooms and jails have become the “last resort” treatment option for mentally ill Iowans, according to Hubbell.

Andy McGuire, a medical doctor who’s also seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, said last week that police have become “mental health providers.”

“They take patients to jail and to emergency rooms, two of the most expensive and worst places for someone in crisis rather than preventing crisis with more up-front counseling,” McGuire said. “…We need to prioritize and focus resources and we need to destigmatize mental health. We need to love more and ignore less.”

McGuire made her comments at a recent Democratic Party fundraiser. John Norris, another candidate who spoke at the same event, accused Governors Branstad and Reynolds of “turning the heartland into the land of the heartless.”

Tuesday’s discussion about the mental health system is sponsored by The Des Moines Register and Des Moines University and starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.