Senate defeats sales tax rebate plan that would have benefited Prospect Meadows, other projects

DES MOINES - A state sales tax incentive that would have aided the development of a proposed 17-field baseball and softball complex in Linn County failed to win support of the Iowa Senate on Monday.

Senators voted 22-28 to defeat Senate File 2312, a measure that would have allowed Prospect Meadows and similar developments to be eligible for a sales tax rebate on future revenue of up to $2.5 million over 10 years.

According to a fiscal note prepared by the Legislative Services Agency on S.F. 2312, two facilities in the planning stages likely would qualify for the rebate: one in Dyersville and one in Linn County. Neither facility is anticipated to be in operation until the summer of 2017.

Four majority Democrats joined 24 GOP senators in opposing the measure, however, one of the no votes was Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, the bill's floor manager, who switched his vote to keep alive the possibility of reconsidering the bill at some point before the Legislature adjourns. Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, also filed a motion to reconsider the bill.

Provisions of the bill called for a $16.5 million program cap and a $2.5 million individual rebate cap, meaning there could be as many as six or seven projects financed under this program if they met the $10 million investment requirement.

Critics expressed concern whether Iowa could support six or seven sports complexes. Other objections were that the legislation would not help rural Iowa and potentially would take tax revenue away from other budget priorities like education.

'To me, this bill needs to be more focused and limited to one,” said Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa.

However, Dotzler argued the project would bring new economic vitality to the state and would not take money from the general fund because it would be based on future activities. 'The state has no risk, absolutely zero risk,” he said.

The proposed rebate was similar to a sales tax incentive the state pledged in 2012 to a proposed youth baseball and softball complex at the Field of Dreams movie site near Dyersville. That project has not yet come to fruition.

Also Monday, the Senate rejected changes that representatives made last week to a bill dealing with the oversight of children's residential facilities.

Senate File 2304 was intended to protect youngsters from the physical and sexual abuse alleged in a criminal investigation of Midwest Academy that prompted the legislation. However, the House added an exemption for 'bona fide religious organizations,” which backers said would be applied to the curriculum, not health and safety standards that apply to other institutions.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, expressed concerned that 'bona fide religious organizations” are not defined in Iowa law and the exemption would mean employees of those organizations would not be subject to background checks required of school employees.