Branstad, top leaders “close” to key agreements

DES MOINES – Gov. Terry Branstad and top lawmakers opened the 2013 legislative session's 18

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week Monday hoping that it will be the last.

Skeleton crews of legislators gaveled the Iowa House and Iowa Senate into brief open sessions Monday afternoon while top leaders and key players met privately on priority issues in search of elusive agreements that are holding up adjournment. Monday marked the 120

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day of the 2013 session.

“It's time to wrap this thing up and get it completed and we're very hopeful that can happen this week,” Branstad told reporters at his weekly news conference.

The GOP governor and key lawmakers in the split-control General Assembly said negotiators were “very close” to agreeing on an overall spending level for fiscal 2014 that would allow House-Senate conference committees to proceed with funding targets in each of their respective budget areas.

“If we're going to wrap this up, that's the first step,” said Rep. Chuck Soderberg, R-Le Mars, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said talks looks promising on reforming Iowa's education and property tax systems, but negotiators were having difficulty forging an agreement between Branstad's Healthy Iowa plan and a proposed expansion of Iowa's Medicaid program that Democrats favor.

“We've still got some work ahead of us but we believe that we can be done this week,” Paulsen said. “I expect before we adjourn we will have an education reform bill that will move Iowa's educational system forward and a property tax system that while protecting homeowners encourages employers to invest in our state.”

Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, rejected talk of possibility of lawmakers ending the regular session without resolving the health care expansion for needy Iowans and returning later this year in special session to hammer out a compromise.

“All of our work will be done here now, it has to be completed,” said Hatch, who noted there is “daylight” between GOP legislators and the governor on Branstad's proposal to finance an expansion of the IowaCare program with property tax money.

“To think we can come back into special session and have an agreement is pretty unrealistic and pretty naïve,” he said.

Paulsen said it is more important for lawmakers to be thorough and reach a correct approach than to “move through it quickly.” He noted that quite a bit of work remained on the health care to resolve the differences.

Lawmakers aren't scheduled to reconvene for floor action until Wednesday morning. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said it was likely both chambers would be in a position Wednesday to begin drafting, printing and passing bills in the process to shut down the 2013 session.

“There's a lot of work to be done,” Branstad said. “It would be wonderful if they could get it done this week. We certainly want to see it completed in this month.”