Agreements still eluding split-control Legislature

CEDAR RAPIDS – Gov. Terry Branstad warned lawmakers against playing political games with the state budget and called for good faith negotiations to resolve differences before the end of the month.

The GOP governor and Republicans, who control the House, have agreed on a $6 billion budget ceiling for the fiscal year starting July 1. Democrats, who launched a clock May 19 that counts down the days until July 1 when state government possibly would shutdown if no budget agreement is reached, are playing “political chicken” with the budget.

“I think that's a dumb thing to do,” Branstad said during a visit to Cedar Rapids May 19. “I think Iowans expect more than that from us. They want us to work out the differences.”

His staff met with House and Senate negotiators Wednesday – the session's 130

^th

calendar day - to discuss impasses over state spending, property tax relief and education funding, Branstad said. Only a handful of lawmakers were present.

“We're still talking and we're still making progress,” House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said. “We're definitely going to have to pick up the pace to get to the end, but I remain optimistic.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, issued a statement saying budget negotiations in the split-control Legislature have stalled over support for education and job creation.

“Our schools and colleges, as well as Iowa's recovery from the national recession, will be damaged if we don't reach a common-sense compromise,” Dvorsky said. The GOP position of holding state spending below $6 billion includes cuts to education that “are unnecessary because we can afford these investments at a time when our state's reserve funds are full at $600 million and another $300 million will be added by the end of the fiscal year.”

The $6 billion spending level for fiscal 2012 is “the size of the pie” and whatever agreements get hammered out must be within the context of that funding ceiling, which would be less than the amount spent to fund state government for the past two fiscal years, Paulsen said.

“I don't think we should be very far apart,” he said.

Branstad and Paulsen questioned why Democrats keep talking about shutting down state government.

“Those kinds of political games don't make a lot of sense,” Branstad said about the “countdown to shutdown” clock. “That shows you that they maybe want to shut down the government, I don't want to. The House Republicans don't want to.”

Democrats, he added, seem to think they will gain some political advantage by talking about a government shutdown.

“I think Iowans are smarter than that,” the governor said. “They can see through that.”

House Republicans also are committed to making sure state government is operating July 1, Paulsen added.

“I do not have the slightest idea why the Democrats think it's a good idea to be talking about and pushing us toward a shutdown,” he said.

Sue Dvorsky, the senator's wife and chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, criticized Branstad and legislative Republicans for pushing a “starvation budget” for schools that would hold allowable growth in state per-pupil spending to zero for the next two fiscal years. The GOP plan would provide $215 million for K-12 schools next fiscal year to “backfill” state aid that was cut and replaced by local property taxes or local district cash reserves. She warned that GOP cuts would result in teacher layoffs, property tax increases and less money for regent universities and community colleges.

“Making Iowa schools the best in the nation was a key promise of Governor Branstad's campaign. His campaign labeled him as the “

education governor” and told voters that “

our commitment to education must change by again putting Iowa's children first.” Unfortunately, education has gone from a principle in Branstad's “

new covenant” to the top target as he continues to demand a starvation budget for Iowa schools,” Sue Dvorksy said in a statement. “Gov. Branstad's mandate has expired. He needs to compromise before serious economic damage is done to our state.”