Let me start by saying this report will be very brief. Legislators have done very little since our last report, staying in caucus for hours and debating only a few things (if any) each day. That signals we’ve reached a crucial point in the legislative process – end game negotiations.
NO NEWS ISN’T GOOD NEWS
We’ve reached that point in the legislative session when things have gone quiet. Legislative leaders are sequestering themselves to negotiate budgets, and agreement on the $7.5 billion budget is further complicated this year by three competing tax reform proposals. The Republican-controlled House, Senate, and Governor do not share a unified tax reform vision, and therefore cannot agree on how and when to cut taxes.
- The House wants to cut $1.3 billion in taxes over the next three years. Their plan (HF2489) passed out of the House Ways & Means Committee on Thursday and is ready for debate. You can read the House Republican caucus analysis of the bill here.
- The Senate’s new plan lowers taxes by nearly $2 billion over that same period. They have not yet released details and have not introduced a bill, but you can see some of what might be included in their one-pager.
- Governor Reynolds’ plan reduces taxes by $1.7 billion over six years (HSB671& SSB3195). You can read more about that plan here.
Earlier this month, Iowans had a chance to weigh in on tax cuts, but only about 30 people had time to speak during the 90-minute public hearing. You can read comments that were submitted online
here
.
GLIMMER OF HOPE
While writing this report, the House released its calendar for next week - budget subcommittee are meeting Monday at 3:00 pm. Four subcommittees have sent out agendas which indicate they will have budget bills ready for review (so far Economic Development, Justice Systems/Judiciary, Transportation, and Agriculture/Natural Resources). We think more will come out over the weekend, although it is optimistic to think Health/Human Services will have anything in writing to share.
These announcements confirm rumors that the House plans to have their own budget targets, built around their tax proposal. By getting these bills all out on the House Calendar, they will be in a position to amend the budgets and tax plan quickly once a final agreement is reached.
While this is a positive sign, it’s now clear that legislators will not be able to end session by the April 17 target adjournment date. Working past this 100-day mark is allowed, but legislators will have to do it without their clerks, and without their per diem reimbursement. They’ll have no one to help them get through the mounds of papers coming their way, and pay for their meals and hotels while in Des Moines with their own money. That starts to add up pretty quickly.
STOP THE MADNESS
Once there is agreement on budgets and taxes, it usually takes at least a week to draft the 10 final budget bills and send them through editing, draft amendments, discuss in caucus, and have the debates. There are always errors caught that were unexpected, so bills will often need to bounce back and forth between chambers before they are perfected. That’s when things get really interesting. Because legislators are there, and they may be waiting for the other chamber to take action, they have extra time. What they do with that extra time is always worrisome. Bills that everyone thought were dead or dormant suddenly spring back to life. Legislators have time to think up new ideas and get them drafted into amendments. There are still controversial bills sitting on the calendar waiting to be debated, like the heartbeat abortion ban, utility changes, and sports betting. All bets are off when things slow down; you have to be ever-cautious and keep your ears close to the ground. So watch your emails for alerts if they do something wacky.
ON A RELATED NOTE
There is a political reason to keep things going for a bit longer. Gubernatorial candidates are prohibited from taking PAC checks during the legislative session, and the 30-day veto period after session adjourns. That means if session goes until Sunday, May 6, the Democratic candidates for Governor will be shut out of those large checks before the June 5 primary. That impacts Sen. Nate Boulton and Cathy Glasson the most, as they have been endorsed by most of the groups that own those PACs. Governor Reynolds is also unable to accept those checks, but she does not have a primary opponent, so it’s not an issue on the Republican side.
ON A FINAL NOTE
Former State Representative Annette Sweeney, a Republican from Alden, won this week’s special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bill DIx. Sen. Sweeney is a farmer and has a long history of work with agriculture-related organizations, including a four-month post as State Director of Rural Development for the USDA (which she had to give up when she decided to run for Senate). Sen. Sweeney will need to run again in the November election, and will face the person she just beat, Democrat Tracy Freese, a financial planner from Dike.
