High level issues likely shelved due to Iowa budget negotiations

DES MOINES – As the 2011 Iowa legislative sessions spills over into its second week of overtime, it's shaping up to be the “Seinfeld Session.”

Other than accomplish the one thing legislators must do – approve a budget, this session may wind up being all about nothing.

With budget negotiations between the Republican-controlled House, the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican Gov. Terry Branstad consuming most of the oxygen at the Capitol, it appears more and more likely that several previously high-priority issues will be shelved until 2012 or, perhaps, indefinitely.

“In terms of the big issues that have consensus in our chamber, we have moved those,” Senate Majority Leader Mike, D-Council Bluffs, said about “a host of unresolved issues.”

The list includes property tax relief, education funding, nuclear power, the delivery of mental health services and a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.

The best bets for action are a bill to establish a framework to come back next year and replace the county-by-county mental health delivery system with a state-run, state-funded plan and, perhaps, commercial property tax relief. However, neither appears to be on the fast-track to passage – if there is a fast-track at all.

Representatives and senators worked just a few days last week. The Senate won't be in session Monday and the House plans a gavel in, gavel out session.

Still, there are meetings and negotiations going on, said House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner.

“There's no reason to bring people back until we have bills ready to move,” she said. “All of our members are on call whenever we're ready to move bills.”

House Ways and Means Chairman Tom Sands, R-Columbus Junction, anticipates a floor debate on a Republican property tax relief plan Tuesday.

Sands admits there isn't much in it for Democrats to like, at least not yet, but he's discussing House Study Bill 240 with his Senate counterpart, Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa.

“They change everything we send over to the Senate, so this won't be a finished product,” he said.

Senate Democrats passed their own property tax relief plan earlier, but the House is likely to substitute their plan to limit property tax collections by local governments, require a majority vote of the people to raise the limit, use state tax dollars to replace part of the property taxes now spent for local schools and roll back commercial and industrial property taxes over five years to 60 percent of taxable value.

Beyond that, the budget will dominate the week – or weeks ahead. Republicans – legislators and Branstad – have agreed on a budget ceiling of less than $6 billion.

Democrats see the budget gap widening with the governor dropping his target by about $161 million.

The ball is in Gronstal's court, according to the GOP.

“We have a number that we've put out there. We've come up $100 million” toward bridging a $147 million budget gap,” Upmeyer said. “I think that's the next step, seeing how their caucus wants to spend that $100 million.”

Democrats will craft a counter-offer, Gronstal said, but rejected a suggestion that the trilateral negotiations with legislative Republicans and the governor are like a chess game.

“In chess,” he said, “it's not three players. (This is) more like poker.”