Iowa legislators announce $6.1 billion state budget
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Democratic legislative leaders Tuesday released the details of a $6.1 billion state budget they'll approve in the closing days of this year's session, slashing nearly $300 million from the package Gov. Chet Culver submitted.
The spending plan includes a $615 million reserve fund to tide the state over if there is an economic downturn that slows tax collections.
"This is the greatest savings account in the history of the state," said Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs.
Approving a new budget is one of the final moves lawmakers must make before ending this year's session. Gronstal was joined by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, to announce the plan.
The budget calls for spending $6.084 billion during the fiscal year beginning July 1, up from the projected $5.86 billion in the current year. That's a $217 million increase, or 3.7 percent, and spends significantly less than the $6.4 billion Culver proposed when he offered his condition of the state speech in January.
Culver asked lawmakers for a $75 million increase in corporate income taxes, and he sought to double the 5-cent deposit on bottles and cans, with some of the money spent on state programs. The Legislature rejected both of those proposals.
The spending plan is fleshed out in 10 budget measure the Legislature must still approve. While details of those packages are still being worked out, the plan outlined by Gronstal and McCarthy offers the framework within which lawmakers must act.
The biggest new spending item contained in the measure is a three-year, $25 million effort to expand health care to all children in the state. Lawmakers plan to spend $4.8 million in the first year by expanding a program offering health care to the working poor.
The spending plan includes a $615 million reserve fund to tide the state over if there is an economic downturn that slows tax collections.
"This is the greatest savings account in the history of the state," said Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs.
Approving a new budget is one of the final moves lawmakers must make before ending this year's session. Gronstal was joined by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, to announce the plan.
The budget calls for spending $6.084 billion during the fiscal year beginning July 1, up from the projected $5.86 billion in the current year. That's a $217 million increase, or 3.7 percent, and spends significantly less than the $6.4 billion Culver proposed when he offered his condition of the state speech in January.
Culver asked lawmakers for a $75 million increase in corporate income taxes, and he sought to double the 5-cent deposit on bottles and cans, with some of the money spent on state programs. The Legislature rejected both of those proposals.
The spending plan is fleshed out in 10 budget measure the Legislature must still approve. While details of those packages are still being worked out, the plan outlined by Gronstal and McCarthy offers the framework within which lawmakers must act.
The biggest new spending item contained in the measure is a three-year, $25 million effort to expand health care to all children in the state. Lawmakers plan to spend $4.8 million in the first year by expanding a program offering health care to the working poor.
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