Iowa DNR commission recommmends one-cent tax to help fund natural resource programs

DES MOINES - Members of the Iowa Natural Resources Commission are calling on the split-control Legislature and Gov. Terry Branstad to support a penny increase in the state's sales tax which automatically would boost money outdoor recreation and resource enhancements by about $150 million a year.

The seven-member commission - which includes Branstad's youngest son, Marcus - unanimously endorsed raising the current base tax of 5 percent on qualifying sales to 6 percent during the current legislative session. Local jurisdictions can levy an additional 1 percent local-option sales tax and another 1 percent sales tax for school infrastructure improvements on top of the state's base rate.

Raising the sales tax by another penny would generate about $440 million annually, but Iowa voters approved a ballot initiative in 2010 to devote three eighths of each new penny in sales tax to the betterment of Iowa's natural resources as prescribed by the passage of the Iowa Land & Water Legacy campaign.

'We hope that conversation takes place this year,” said NRC chairwoman Margo Underwood of Clear Lake during Wednesday's joint meeting of the NRC and the state Environmental Protection Commission. 'We hope that becomes a reality.”

According to the commission's legislative recommendation, the estimated yearly infusion of $150 million from a dedicated portion of a state sales tax increase would provide more money to Iowa's 'woefully underfunded conservation, habitat, and recreation initiatives.”

In lieu of that dedicated funding stream, the commissioners offered an alternative for the Legislature and governor to consider transferring a portion of the state's general fund ending balance not captured by the statutory reserves into the natural resources and outdoor recreation trust fund to help address natural resource management.

Branstad did not include any proposals to increase taxes in the two-year budget he unveiled Jan. 13 with his Condition of the State address.

'Gov. Branstad doesn't believe there is an appetite for a sales tax increase in the Iowa Legislature,” said Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers. 'The governor's budget calls for a $57 million water quality investment over the next two years and a holistic quality of life initiative called IowaNEXT without raising taxes.”

NRC members also asked for $20 million for the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program, $9.6 million for lake restoration and water quality improvement efforts, $5 million to upgrade state park infrastructure, and $1.9 million in community woodland health grants for each of the next two fiscal years.

Currently, the REAP program is receiving $16 million in fiscal 2015 - the level the governor included in his budget proposal for each of the next two fiscal years. Last session proponents succeeded in getting the Legislature to commit $25 million to a program started in 1989 but the governor cited lower-than-expected state revenues in paring back the request for the program's 25th anniversary year.

The governor proposed increasing state general fund operating money for the state Department of Natural Resources by $1.5 million to $16.8 million in fiscal 2016, but DNR Director Chuck Gipp told the joint commission meeting that his agency is looking at a 'status-quo” budget since there is no funding for salary increases, state health insurance costs are rising along with other yearly costs needed to operate the department's functions.