Iowa legislative session goes into overtime amid impasse

DES MOINES - Leaders of the split-control Legislature are hitting Friday's target date for adjournment of the 2015 session far apart on budget agreements to fund education and human services in the next fiscal year that begins July 1.

'This is a debate between what's legal and what's wise,” said House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha. 'We think it's a wise decision on behalf of the taxpayers of Iowa to make sure that we balance the ongoing revenue with ongoing expenses.”

Majority GOP representatives have parted ways with Democrats who control the Senate and Republican Gov. Terry Branstad in refusing to dip into the state's surplus money to finance ongoing commitments and state programs, saying spending at a rate greater than tax collections is creating a structural deficit.

However, Democrats say House Republicans' refusal to spend above their $7.176 billion target for fiscal 2016 represents 'a line in concrete” that is raising concerns among Iowans whether the Legislature will be able to reach compromise before a potential June 30 shutdown scenario.

'We've got to get this education piece figured out,” said Rep. Dave Heaton, R-Mount Pleasant, co-leader of the House-Senate subcommittee that is laboring under a budget stalemate that hinges on the level of new state aid that will be directed to K-12 school districts. 'The gate opens when we get that figured out.”

Branstad and House Republicans have stood firm on a $100 million K-12 education proposal that would boost school districts' base budgets by 1.25 percent in fiscal 2016 and finance another year of education reforms. Democrats are seeking a 2.625 percent boost for K-12 schools but offer it in a similar framework to Branstad's $7.341 billion budget plan that uses one-time surplus money to fund priorities and past commitments.

'I'm confident we'll get through this,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, told reporters Thursday. However, he said legislative Democrats have been willing to move while GOP negotiators haven't, which has brought talks to a halt.

'The key is the unwillingness of House Republicans to compromise,” Gronstal said. 'They can't even compromise with their own governor. That's the key issue that separates us.”

Another important piece of the fiscal 2016 state budget began to take shape Thursday when Democrats on the House-Senate subcommittee moved forward with a $1.904 billion proposal that was $26 million under the governor's level but seeks to boost spending by $45.8 million beginning July 1.

'It's the beginning of the process,” said subcommittee co-leader Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City. The budget plan anticipates more savings from Branstad's plan to move to a Medicaid program managed by private health care providers.

Democrats also build in about $13 million to keep mental health institutes in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant operating beyond July 1 and direct $32 million from the state's ending balance to address a projected Medicaid shortfall for the current fiscal year.

Heaton said some elements of the Senate approach appeared workable, and other parts - likely the projected Medicaid managed care savings and the fiscal 2015 shortfall solution - posed problems for closing a projected $100 million gap in House and Senate spending targets.

The Mount Pleasant Republican said he understands the strong feeling surrounding the MHIs closure issue, but he does not want to plug more than $12 million into line items he is convinced the governor will veto when there are so many other needs to address in the human services area given 'the fragile financial position we're in.”

'I can't take a budget that we can't sustain, that's all,” Heaton said.