‘Budget’ Archives
Author: deanfiihr Published: March 31st, 2010
Legislative leaders yesterday said the shortened 2010 session of the Iowa Legislature succeeded in responsibly balancing the budget without raising taxes while laying the groundwork for Iowa’s economic recovery.
“The lingering national recession has put almost every state budget in the red. In Iowa, that’s not the case. We’ve balanced the budget without increasing taxes on Iowa families. We did it by making tough choices and by reorganizing state government for the first time in 25 years,” said Senate President Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg. “Those changes will make the dollars we do spend go farther while saving hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years.”
“Times will be tough in Iowa until the national economy more fully recovers,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines. “But Iowa is positioned better now than most any other state to recover quicker and stronger because the Legislature kept focused on fiscal responsibility and protecting the key priorities of Iowans.”
“For the first time ever, this Legislature took a hard look at state spending on all tax credits. Our tax credit reform ended some tax credits, suspended others, and cut the state’s overall tax credit liability by $115 million. We increased incentives to help our local small businesses create jobs,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. “We also expanded support for small businesses to encourage them to create good-paying jobs.”
“We made the cuts we had to make while keeping our commitments to educational opportunity, access to affordable health care, renewable energy, public safety and job creation,” said House Speaker Pat Murphy of Dubuque. “I’m proud of our efforts to make state government leaner and more effective, which allowed us to provide schools with an additional $147 million next year.”
Tags: End of Session, kibbie, McCarthy, Murphy
Category 2010 Session Information, Budget, Education, Health Care, Jobs & Economy |
Author: deanfiihr Published: March 23rd, 2010
Des Moines, Iowa – The Iowa House today approved the blueprint for education next year that maintains key priorities in education while keeping the state budget balanced.
“In these tough economic times, we know there are tough choices to make but we are keeping focused on priorities in education. The blueprint we approved today will keep the state budget balanced, ensure more four year olds have access to quality preschool and keep good teachers in the classroom,” said State Representative Cindy Winckler of Davenport, who chairs the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee.
The bill, Senate File 2376, allocates about $850 million for the Board of Regents, College Student Aid Commission, Department of the Blind, and other education institutions. Given the state’s tight budget times, most areas of the plan are reduced about 4% from last year but re-directs some resources to key priorities, like k-12 education.
“As the national economy begins to recover, it’s essential that we have a skilled workforce to take advantage of new job opportunities in high-tech industries like renewable energy. I’m proud that we are continuing our commitment to raise standards and make sure our kids graduate with the skills necessary to land a job in today’s global economy,” added Winckler.
The bill now returns to the Senate.
Category 2010 Session Information, Budget, Education |
Author: deanfiihr Published: March 19th, 2010
The Iowa House approved tax credit reform legislation (SF 2380) today that will expand support for small businesses and bring accountability and common sense to Iowa’s tax credit spending.
“We are shifting dollars away from large Wall Street companies and moving some of those dollars to support struggling Main Street businesses whose success will benefit more Iowans,” said State Representative Paul Shomshor of Council Bluffs, who chairs the House Ways & Means Committee. “In these tough times, we must give continue to support small businesses.”
The reforms include the suspension of the film tax credit program for two years; lowering the cap from $185 million to $120 million on business tax credits; cutting the Iowa Fund of Funds contingent tax credits from $100 million to $60 million; an overall cut of 10 percent for many other tax credit programs and an on-going oversight process which will regularly evaluate all tax credits for results. Credits which do not produce results will be fixed or eliminated. In addition, the Supplemental Research Activities Tax Credit will be cut in half for large corporations and increased to help small businesses.
Tags: Iowa Small Businesses, Shomshor, Tax Credit Accountability, Tax Credits
Category Budget, Jobs & Economy |
Author: deanfiihr Published: March 2nd, 2010
The Iowa House today gave final approval to another piece of the government reorganization initiative that will save the state an additional $126 million. As the national recession has caused a steep decline in state revenues, the reorganization effort was launched last year to help balance the state budget while preserving Iowans’ priorities in education, jobs, and health care.
“By eliminating waste and saving millions of dollars for Iowa taxpayers, our reorganization efforts will help balance the budget while keeping our commitment to education and job creation,” said State Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City, who won approval of the bill.
The goal of Senate File 2088 is to create more accountability for taxpayer dollars and eliminate wasteful spending by consolidating agencies and delivering services to Iowans more efficiently. The massive reorganization plan finalized by the House today is estimated to save taxpayers an additional $126 million next year, bringing the total savings from reorganization efforts to about $265 million.
The bill is one of the largest initiatives in state history at 350 pages and contains over 50 different ideas, both large and small. It eliminates 14 different boards and commissions, reduces energy costs, combines state purchasing, cuts down on middle management to keep front line workers in their jobs, and consolidates information technology.
The bill now goes to the Governor.
Category Budget, Jobs & Economy |
Author: deanfiihr Published: February 16th, 2010
On a unanimous vote, the Iowa House today approved another piece of the government reorganization initiative that boosts savings so far to $272 million. As the national recession cause a steep decline in state revenues, the reorganization effort was launched last year to help balance the state budget while preserving Iowans’ priorities in education, jobs, and health care.
“The government reorganization effort approved today eliminates waste and saves millions of dollars for Iowa taxpayers. From cost-saving measures to making state government more efficient to improving the services that the state offers, our reorganization efforts so far this year total $272 million and makes our state stronger and more responsive,” said State Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City, who won approval of the bill.
The goal of Senate File 2088 is to create more accountability for taxpayer dollars and eliminate wasteful spending by consolidating agencies and delivering services to Iowans more efficiently. Last fall, Governor Culver used his executive authority to implement $88 million in cost saving measures and last week he signed an early retirement package for state employees into law that saved an additional $60 million. The massive reorganization plan approved today is estimated to save taxpayers an additional $124 million next year, bringing the total savings from reorganization efforts to $272 million.
The bill is one of the largest initiatives in state history at 350 pages and contains over 50 different ideas, both large and small. It eliminates 14 different boards and commissions, reduces energy costs, combines state purchasing, cuts down on middle management to keep front line workers in their jobs, and consolidates information technology.
The bill now returns to the Senate.
Tags: Budget, government reorganization, Jobs, mary mascher, savings
Category 2010 Session Information, Budget |
