Legislative Report: State budget work is a ‘sobering’ time
March 04, 2010 · Nate Willems

Even though we all knew that the State of Iowa's tax revenues have dropped 14% over the past two years, and we all knew this would mean additional budget cuts this year, it is still sobering when we actually have a budget bill before us that will implement some of those cuts.

This past week, my Justice Systems Appropriations Sub-Committee completed its work. This committee funds the Courts System, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Justice and several smaller agencies. The bills that we submitted to the full Appropriations Committee represent an 8 percent reduction in funding from two years ago. Though use of furlough days has prevented many layoffs up to this point, these current cuts will represent approximately 550 layoffs from these parts of state government. Were it not for the cost savings found in the government reorganization bill and our intention to use a portion of the State's Rainy Day funds this year, the cuts would have been even deeper. It is hard, though, to take too much comfort in merely minimizing the damage done to essential public services.

On a brighter note, it appears we have reached a compromise between the Department of Education and local school districts in regard to how funds for Home School Assistance Programs (HSAP) may be spent. The current plan would allow school districts to spend HSAP dollars on teachers, support staff, and equipment but not on administrators or for facilities. These changes would actually go into the Iowa Code and, therefore, should not be subject to change by the Department of Education. Though I might have liked to go a little further in giving school districts with an HSAP greater flexibility in operating their program, it is a reasonable compromise, and all parties can feel comfortable in moving forward with it.

The House also passed legislation this week that will prohibit an insurance company from dictating to dentists what they can charge for services not covered by the insurance company. It may seem ridiculous that an insurance company could tell a dentist what it may charge not only for a service that is covered by their plan, but also for a service that is not. Fortunately, with bipartisan support, the House made it clear that this practice will not be tolerated.

Lastly, the leadership in the Iowa House has made it clear that we intend to be in session this Friday. So, though I had intended to conduct a listening post in Mount Vernon Friday morning, I must regrettably postpone it.

(Editor's Note: Nate Willems, a Democrat from Lisbon, represents House District 29, which includes Mount Vernon and Lisbon.)