Senate Democrats release budget targets

DES MOINES - Majority Senate Democrats plan to stick to their guns in pushing for a 4 percent increase in state aid to K-12 school districts next year and will seek a similar 4 percent boost in the state's support for schools in fiscal 2018, according to the top Senate Democrat.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said Tuesday his 26-member caucus plans to reject an amended 2 percent raise in state aid to education the GOP-led House approved on Monday - likely sending to issue to a House-Senate conference committee to resolve via compromise.

Also Tuesday, Senate Democrats released fiscal 2017 budget targets that were $4 million below Gov. Terry Branstad's $7.412 billion spending plan but allocated the state resources differently in education and human services areas. The Senate plan would be lowered to $7.398 billion if the governor and legislative Republicans go along with a proposal to offer state employees early retirement incentives that would save $10.62 million.

'Our target comes in under the governor,” said Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, 'but I think we're still able to meet a number of the priorities that we have in our caucus and we want to get this going and start moving the state forward.”

The Senate spending targets call for spending 98.9 percent of the available state revenues and are $4.7 million below the statutory 99 percent spending limitation law. The specific funding allocations in each budget area will be decided by the various subcommittees, Dvorsky said.

Top Democrats were hopeful their higher education funding target could pave the way for another tuition freeze at state universities in fiscal 2017 if the regents choose to do so and they increase funding for Medicaid spending but do not assume a shift to privately delivered managed care being pushed by the governor.

'We've been very skeptical that there were ever savings there,” Gronstal said of the governor's Medicaid modernization concept. 'It's kind of the incredible shrinking savings in that it keeps getting lower and lower,” he said.

'People will work together, try to come to common ground on what they think the numbers are, agree to a budget and if and when those savings don't materialize we're forced to look at a supplemental to cover that,” Gronstal added.

Gronstal said the Senate's spending targets assume a 4 percent increase in state aid to K-12 schools heading into negotiations with the House and Senate Democrats plan to meet the law's 30-day deadline for setting K-12 state funding for fiscal 2018 by passing legislation boosting state aid again by 4 percent for the 2017-18 school year.

'We're going to do our level best to meet the deadline to get done,” he said. 'We're not going to agree to change the process in terms of doing it 18 months out.”

One day earlier, Republicans who control the Iowa House voted 55-43 to pare back the Senate-passed 4 percent school aid increase by half, saying a 2 percent boost is more in line with available state revenue and still gives education the largest chunk of the $153 million in new money they have calculated to be available to spend in fiscal 2017.

'The Senate has the opportunity to provide certainty to our local schools by sending this bill to the governor for his signature,” House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said after Monday's House vote. 'Schools need to begin setting their budgets for next school year and are relying on the Legislature to set an amount that they can depend on.”

Gronstal said House Republicans make the claim the state can spend more for education while at the same time advocating for significant tax cuts.

'The House says we can't afford it, but the House does say we can afford nearly $200 million in various tax cuts. That's just the ones I know about so far,” the Senate leader noted.