‘There’s no other option’

If it's going to happen at the Statehouse in 2015, it's got to be bipartisan.

'There's no other option,” Senate President Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said at a news conference in Hiawatha last week.

Republicans control the Iowa House and Republican Gov. Terry Branstad ws re-elected in November. But Democrats hold a slim majority in the Iowa Senate. So nothing can get to the governor's desk without support from both parties.

We happen to like the balanced, prudent restraint yielded by divided government. Neither party has the green light to pursue an unfettered partisan agenda. And the friction caused by disagreement can also be the spark for innovation, creativity and compromise. We know this because Iowa voters have a long track record of forcing Democrats and Republicans to share Statehouse power.

Of course, we've also seen divisions lead to gridlock, and provide a convenient excuse for sidestepping important issues. And although we understand the limits of partisan power-sharing, we also expect the Iowa Legislature to make 2015 a year of significant accomplishments.

Here is our wish list as the 2015 session opens Monday:

A RESPONSIBLE BUDGET THAT INVESTS IN PRIORITIES

Back in 2013, Iowa lawmakers and the governor produced a remarkable series of bipartisan compromises on major issues. Statehouse leaders forged a deal to reduce commercial property taxes, found compromise on expanding health insurance coverage for low-income Iowans and set in motion an effort to improve teacher performance and pay in K-12 public schools.

But now, the bill for those ambitions is coming due. Those compromises built large and growing long-term expenses into current and future budgets, including promised, massive payments to local governments offsetting lost commercial property tax revenues. Add these costs to normal needs, and the state budget is tightening. A once large surplus is dwindling.

Branstad understands the daunting math, and has pledged to craft a budget that acknowledges challenges ahead. He's smartly sought to cool hopes of large new spending initiatives and calls within his own party for large, politically tempting tax reductions.

'We've already made some big commitments I want to make sure are fulfilled,” Branstad told our editorial board this fall. But we believe that restraint isn't about just saying no. It's about targeting limited budget resources at pressing priorities.

We appreciate efforts to improve the teaching profession, but K-12 schools also need a basic level of state funding that gives them the financial breathing room to innovate and transform instruction. An expected early session decision on school funding should not nickel and dime our school districts.

We believe modest additional bipartisan investments in water and soil conservation efforts, the sort of measures vetoed by Branstad last spring, are necessary down payments on salvaging and safeguarding priceless resources. We can pay for these efforts now or pay a far higher price later.

An ongoing effort to redesign and revamp mental health services in Iowa needs adequate resources to succeed.

Basically, we'd like to see a budget process that takes the long view, and considers the cost of decisions beyond the next fiscal year or two. We know that it's the Legislature's job to balance the budget, but we think it has a greater obligation to see fiscal responsibility as more than numbers. It's a responsibility to match resources with real needs.

A PLAN TO REPAIR THE STATE'S ROADS

After several years of stop-and-go efforts to pump new and needed dollars into Iowa's Road Use tax Fund, 2015 must be the year to get the job done.

A backlog of pressing road and bridge repair needs topping $200 million annually is growing. Political courage to close that gap has been lacking. Lawmakers have balked at the notion of raising Iowa's gas tax for the first time since 1989. Gov. Terry Branstad has declined to offer a plan of his own.

We think a gas tax increase is the fastest route to addressing current repair needs. But if lawmakers and the governor come up with some sort of 'hybrid” plan involving a combination of other revenue sources, so be it. But whatever plan emerges, it should be focused on fixing existing transportation infrastructure.

This isn't just a roads issue. It's an economic development priority. Even organizations such as the Iowa Bankers Association are listing transportation funding among their legislative priorities. The potential effect of a long-awaited funding plan goes far beyond pavement.

A CAREFUL LOOK AT UNIVERSITY FUNDING

Although we respect the Board of Regents' central role in governing state universities and the objectives of overhauling the system for funding Iowa's three state universities, we think it's entirely proper for elected lawmakers to scrutinize and weigh in on the Regents' plans.

The board's decision to institute a performance-based funding system weighed heavily to reward the recruitment of in-state students will have profound effects not only at the state's universities but also for Iowa's community colleges and on the campuses of private institutions. These ripple effects make university funding a statewide issue, not simply a Board of Regents issue. We think the legislative session will provide an opportunity for far more Iowans to weigh in on university funding, input that could lead to important changes.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, expects the issue to draw legislative interest. 'I'm saying there are some significant reservations about it,” Gronstal said this past week.

A DEVELOPMENT EMPHASIS ON SKILLS AND TECHNOLOGY

Although Iowa's economic development efforts generally grab headlines for handing out incentives to business prospects, we'd like to see more emphasis on helping Iowans access the training and technology they need to succeed in a rapidly changing global economy.

Lawmakers and the governor have done some good work in recent years providing assistance to workers in need of job training, with Iowa's community colleges playing a pivotal role. We'd like to see those programs expanded.

Branstad and Democrats each have vowed to find a way to expand access to faster, high-quality broadband connections, especially in underserved rural areas. It seems like a bipartisan plan should be a slam dunk.

We're interested in a Democratic initiative intended to penalize employers who fail to pay workers all the wages they've earned, also known as 'wage theft.” Democrats contend Iowa workers are losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and although we're always wary of new regulations, we think making sure workers are treated fairly is a legitimate state concern.

We also find merit in a proposal floated by the Iowa Caregivers Association to create an Iowa Health Workforce Center within the Iowa Department of Public Health. The Association contends the center could become a 'coordination point” for addressing considerable issues facing the state's health care workforce. That includes the association's estimate that Iowa will need an additional 20,000 direct care workers by 2020 to keep up with rising demand. Low pay, meager benefits and high turnover also are major statewide issues a center could address.

OVERSIGHT SHOULD CONTINUE

Although the 2014 election and all the charges and countercharges tossed about have faded away, we think lawmakers should continue to shine a light on important issues regarding the management of state government.

The Branstad administration should still be called upon to justify massive changes its made in the way state building projects are managed, the way its agencies and administrative law judges handle employment appeals and the governor's drive to reclassify hundreds of state jobs. The governor's re-election doesn't reduce the public's right to know the benefits and problems caused by these changes.

Before the election, investigations led to calls from both sides of the aisle for greater transparency, especially regarding important personnel decisions. We'd like to see the push for those changes continue.

Lawmakers should also tackle a series of recommendations from the Iowa Public Information Board, including changes in the state's open meetings law more clearly applying its requirements to advisory committees appointed by the governor, lawmakers and local governmental entities. Advisory panels, task forces and the like often have heavy influence over public policy, and the public should have full access to their deliberations.

Iowans also should have access to electronic communications between public officials, both now and in the future. It's long past time for lawmakers to address massive gaps in policies governing the handling of email. It should no longer be acceptable in Iowa for public officials to use personal email to avoid public scrutiny, or to delete messages as they see fit. Emails are a critical part of the communications and deliberations trail leading to important decisions. They should be handled and preserved like any other public document.

' Comments: (319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com