My Third Week
I have just finished my third week as a state legislator. This week has definitely been more eventful then the first two weeks. The Governor has released his proposal for the state budget. As I am sure many of you have heard in the news, it is going to be a tough year. Spending has increased $900 million over the last two years, while revenues have decreased which has created a $779 million deficit or “gap”, as the Governor calls it. The Governor recommended a 6.5 percent cut which equals $400 million and while this may sound like a solution, we are still facing the largest budget in Iowa’s history. There have been cuts to state funding for property tax credits, funding for county mental health programs and schools – all will result in property tax increases.
We also debated our first bills of the session. The first was HF64 which was the flood relief package. It allocated $56 million dollars total – $22 million Community Disaster Grants to be used for cities and small business; $10 million for unmet needs, which allow people to purchase clothing, appliances; and $24 million for jump start housing assistance program which is designed to help people that have fallen through the cracks with FEMA. This was the part of the bill I really agreed with.
Now, I did have some disagreements with this part of the bill. I understand that we need to help these people and I do not have any qualms about that. I took issue with the fact that we tried to pass amendments that would require people to turn in receipts in order to be held accountable for the way they spent the money. Each qualified person with a FEMA number will be given a voucher for up to $2500. I did not want people to have the flexibility to go out and buy plasma TV’s or spend it on other items that were not a necessity. Well the amendments failed. There were individuals that argued that we should not make people feel like we do not trust them. I feel I was entrusted to watch over my constituents’ tax dollars and I intend to do that.
The other big issue I had with this bill was that it formed the Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO). Originally the Governor asked for $2 million to fund that office. That was the last thing I wanted to do especially when we are facing a budget crisis. They added the office without the funding. I opposed it because we are just forming another bureaucracy to dump money into at a later date. It will have a staff of 22 personnel. The State of Iowa currently has over 53,000 workers and I would think that we could accommodate these positions without hiring new people, but once again our amendment did not pass.
Overall I did not feel the bill was the best it should have been for the taxpayers, but I know it was a lot better than the original we saw in committee. I felt that it was long over due and there is no reason it should have taken 8 months to get aid to the people in the areas damaged. It is sad that the Governor did not call a special session as people from both parties were asking him to do. This delay may have been due to the condition of the budget, but that is no excuse.
The second bill we debated was allowing a fast track to a local option sales tax (SF44). This was originally meant for flood recovery, but when an amendment was offered to limit it to that, it did not pass. So now a city or county can vote for a local option sales tax on the fast track and use it for anything they desire.
I know that the news is grim about the budget and the economy, but I also know we can persevere. It is going to take all of us working together and I am not just talking about the people at the Statehouse. We need everyone to get more involved. You need to be calling your representatives voicing your concerns. You need to be demanding transparency and accountability in government. Please contact me if you have any concerns or issues that you would like to discuss.
Thanks For Getting Involved
Representative Kent Sorenson