Gov. Kim Reynolds hears interest groups’ priorities in budget hearing

Iowa-based interest groups made their pitches for state budget priorities in Gov. Kim Reynolds’ budget proposal in a hearing on Thursday.

Groups speaking at the hearing were generally aligned with Reynolds’ budget priorities and applauded tax cuts and budget choices in past years, and they made their case for several other measures in the coming budget year.

Property taxes

Business and conservative taxpayer groups alike advocated for changes to property taxes. Property taxes are levied by counties and local governments and are generally used to fund local services and programs.

Chris Hagenow, the president of Iowans for Tax Relief and a former Republican legislator, said he’s expecting the process of addressing property taxes to be a multi-year process. He suggested instituting a two-year property tax freeze in Iowa.

“Property taxes in Iowa are the 10th-highest in the nation,” he said. “And as assessments are going up, Iowans are going to be faced with increasing property tax bills.”

Republicans, who control both chambers in the Legislature, have signaled their willingness to take a close look at those taxes in the upcoming session, and Reynolds also suggested she was interested in lowering property taxes.

“Property tax [is] probably the most hated tax out there,” Reynolds said during the hearing. “So we’re working on individual and corporate, that’s the next step.”

School vouchers

Advocates for using taxpayer dollars to fund tuition assistance to private schools also encouraged Reynolds to pursue the program again in the upcoming session.

Advocates pushed for “education savings accounts,” which would allow parents to use the tax dollars that would normally go to their student’s public school and use it to subsidize a private school education.

Brittany Lumley, a representative for Iowa Advocates for Choice in Education, said the group would continue to push for that program.

“We are looking forward to advancing this bill in the 2023 session, we’re excited to work with you all and the new legislators,” she said.

Reynolds said she would pursue the legislation again and work with the group to make the case to Iowans that the policy will be beneficial.

“I made this a key priority of mine throughout the campaign, and it will continue to be one of my top priorities as we move into the next legislative session,” Reynolds said.

Democrats have said they will oppose the move as they did last year. House Democratic leader Jennifer Konfrst said this week that Democrats would push back against policies that divert public money to private schools.

“It will decimate rural communities, and school vouchers will take much-needed public money and put it into unaccountable private schools that don’t need to take everyone that comes in the door,” she said.

Business, workforce

Business groups echoed the push to lower property taxes, and they also applauded Reynolds for lowering the corporate income tax in a sweeping tax reform signed into law last year.

Beyond tax issues, business group representatives said they would like to see more attention paid to workforce initiatives, including bolstering child care, housing, mental health and apprenticeship initiatives.

“We know that we’re approaching half a billion dollars in child care solutions,” said J.D. Davis, the vice president of public policy at the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. “Those still remain an issue in the workforce, we’ll have to look at what next can be done, but we know we’ve really employed capital well there.”

Sandi Conlin, a lobbyist for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Iowa, said apprenticeship efforts have allowed the organization to improve training facilities and offer training at a lower cost.

“You’ve been a leader in encouraging the use of apprenticeship including providing grant dollars to assist with those startup costs,” she said.

The legislative session starts Jan. 9. That week, Reynolds will give her annual Condition of the State Address, where she will lay out her legislative priorities and her proposed budget.