Iowa House starts work on $8.27 billion state budget proposal

DES MOINES — Having crossed the midway point in what’s scheduled to be a 100-day session, Iowa lawmakers are digging into the time-consuming budget process.

Majority Republican budget proposals for public safety, courts, agriculture and natural resources in fiscal year 2023 were approved on party-line votes Thursday.

The budgets are part of an $8.27 billion general fund budget proposed by House Republicans, which amount to a less than a 1 percent increase from the current $8.1 billion budget.

Gov. Kim Reynolds and Senate Republicans have proposed spending just more than $8.2 billion, a 3.5 percent increase.

House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said he expects more activity on the budget process after the House and Senate approve the priorities identified by Republicans and Reynolds.

He hopes to move more budgets next week, with the possibility of them being approved by the full Appropriations Committee and eligible for floor debate.

“The bigger tax conversation has happened,” Grassley said, referring to legislation that will phase in income tax cuts to a flat rate of 3.9 percent.

“So now, with that out of the way, we have a lot more attention being focused on the budgets,” he said. “That's what is really going to start being the center of attention here in the House.”

In action Thursday, the House Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations subcommittee unanimously approved a $416 million budget, with an additional $14.3 million for capital projects.

The Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee approved a $54 million budget.

The Justice Systems Appropriations subcommittee approved a $633.8 million spending plan, with a $12.7 million increase for several departments. Those include a $7.1 million increase and another 36 full-time-equivalent employees for Corrections, which has seen its funding grow by nearly $29 million since fiscal 2021.

The proposed budget includes $3.1 million for the Department of Public Safety, which will increase funding for the Iowa State Patrol by $2 million to $71.5 million, according to the Legislative Services Agency.

The subcommittee also approved $200.6 million for the Judicial Branch from various sources. That’s a $7.1 million increase that includes $1.4 million for four more district associate judges, said Chairman Gary Worthan, R-Storm Lake, who has chaired the budget committee for 12 years.

“Democrats can always make improvements,” Rep. Brian Meyer of Des Moines, the ranking Democrat on the Justice Systems Appropriations subcommittee said. Democrats, he said, might be able to support the budgets “after further review.”

The budgets follow presentations by departments to the House appropriations subcommittees, which started early in the legislative session.

Noting the lack of those presentations to Senate budget subcommittees and the lack of joint House-Senate committee meetings, Democrat Meyer thanked Republican Worthan for those briefings, which give legislators the opportunity to discuss priorities.

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Erin Murphy of the Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed to this story