Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is traveling the state this summer and offering a new twist on his plan to find more state money for water quality initiatives.
Branstad is embracing the plan advanced this spring by House Republicans, but adding onto it. He’s proposing an extension of the one-cent sales tax for school infrastructure that’s set to expire in 2029. Branstad suggests three-eighths of the money raised AFTER 2029 from that one-cent sales tax be spent on water quality and the rest would continue to go to schools.
The Republican governor is criticizing Democrats in the Senate for failing to pass the House plan, but Branstad says he’ll work with whatever party controls the legislature’s debate agenda next year to find common ground on water quality plans.
House Republicans have proposed diverting water usage fees and some state gambling taxes to water quality projects in cities and on farms. If the House G-O-P plan were in place today, the state would be spending a total of nine MILLION dollars on water quality initiatives this year.
