Indigent defense plan remains in legislative limbo

Iowa senators Tuesday shifted the latest budget pressure point back to the House, rejecting GOP representatives' plan to deal with a backlog of unpaid bills for indigent defense by giving Gov. Terry Branstad transfer authority to deal with the issue while the split-control Legislature is still in session.

Senators voted 50-0 to strike the transfer language and replace it with an $18.2 million supplemental appropriation from the state's projected surplus ending balance that would cover state costs owed to public defenders and private attorneys under contract to provide legal services for indigent defendants. They also included compromise provisions that would “couple” state tax laws with federal tax changes covering businesses, teachers, college students and others that the House, Senate and governor have agreed upon.

“Hopefully, this time the House will be able to take this. There's really no reason not to. We owe the money. We need to get this done,” said Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, floor manager for Senate File 512.

If the GOP-led House sticks by its position that Branstad should cover the indigent defense cost issue by transferring funds within the existing state budget, Hogg said the Senate – made up of 26 Democrats and 24 Republicans – would have to decide whether to send the issue back to a conference committee or “send it to the governor and see if he'll veto it.” Similar language was included in Senate File 209, which currently is in a House-Senate conference committee that has failed to reach resolution.

Branstad has made it clear that he believes it is the Legislature's responsibility, especially while the General Assembly is still in session, to address the funding dilemma rather than shift it to him.

“It's not appropriate to delegate that responsibility to the governor,” Branstad told reporters at his weekly news conference on Monday.

“I believe that it would be a mistake to return to the bad budgeting practices of the past and delegate to the governor the authority to make decisions that are the responsibility of the Legislature. It is legislative responsibility to work those things out and we need to work long and hard and get that job done,” the governor added. “It is not appropriate, especially when the Legislature's in session, to just defer that. And, frankly, there's not money to transfer to that.”