Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says state budget negotiations have entered a “very delicate” phase.
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The official estimate of state tax collections for the next year was raised just slightly last week. BUT, when THAT is coupled with the nearly 100-million dollar tax break legislators recently voted to give some Iowans, it means the budget plan Branstad prepared in January and the outline Democrats in the Senate have been using must be pared down a bit.
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out “within the near future” on how much state money to forward to Iowa’s public schools. It’s the biggest spending decision of the year for lawmakers.