Culver finalizes state budget, session action

DES MOINES – Speeders, seat-belt violators and other scofflaws will be facing higher fines and fees beginning July 1 thanks to the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Chet Culver.

Nearly $9 million worth of higher traffic fines and fees for more than 200 scheduled and unscheduled violations were included in the final pieces of the fiscal 2011 budget the governor signed into law on Thursday. Proponents said the increases were needed to provide more funding to the state's court system, heading off the need for more layoffs, furlough days, court closure days or reduced hours of operation in rural counties due to the state's budget problems.

Culver also placed his signature on a wide-ranging “standings” appropriation bill that included nearly $2.5 billion in state aid for K-12 school districts in fiscal 2011 – a level that kept a commitment to raise the “allowable growth” by 2 percent for public elementary and secondary schools but fell $167 million short of a full state investment.

A separate measure passed earlier by majority legislative Democrats and signed by Culver directed school districts to spend down cash reserves or find cost savings before turning to property taxpayers to make up the shortfall. However, minority GOP lawmakers predicted the state action would result in a sizable shift of education costs to property taxes.

House File 2525 included $91.3 million from the state general fund and $54.7 million from the cash reserve to cover property tax credits to homeowners, elderly residents and others that are provided via local governments. That also fell short of the $201 million needed to fully fund the commitments but that has been the normal practices of lawmakers in recent years.

The bill also allows for using up to $187.8 million from the state's cash reserve to fund state Medicaid program expenses in fiscal 2011. A separate provision directs the state Department of Management to allocate $83.7 million in savings through government reorganization among executive-branch agencies and to report back to lawmakers by Dec. 1.

The measure also directed state agencies to fund pay raises covered by collective bargaining agreements through their operational allotments and provided no increase or bonus money for non-contract state employees.

Culver also signed budget bills covering state government functions in the areas of health and human services, agriculture and natural resources, administration and regulations, and the justice system for the fiscal year that begins next July 1. Thursday marked the 30

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and final day since the Legislature adjourned for him to take action of 2010 session bills.

“These bills had broad-based, bipartisan support and passed with overwhelming majorities in both houses of the General Assembly. Unlike what we have seen with partisan infighting in other states, here in Iowa on more than a dozen bills this session we were able to lock arms and work together for the good of Iowans,” Culver said in a statement.

“This was an extremely successful session, of which we all can be very proud,” he added. “We have now completed the important work we set out to do this session, fashioning a balanced budget for our state. Iowa is in a strong fiscal position, with $387 million in reserves and a ‘AAA' bond rating – only a few states can match that record. We've kept our promises, protected our priorities, balanced our budget and held the line on taxes,” Culver said. “In short, despite economic challenges, we moved Iowa forward.”  

The governor's action included several item vetoes that included striking a provision that would have eliminated the chief and assistant chief of the state Department of Natural Resources' law enforcement bureau and a separate requirement that the state's Office of Energy Independence collect and report data on all grants and loans provided under the Iowa Power Fund. He also vetoed language dealing with food establishment inspections and contracting with a municipal corporation to fulfill state responsibilities.

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