Iowa lawmakers got an extra early start to this Memorial Day weekend. Senators have not met to debate at all this week and most of the 100 members of the Iowa House gathered for just one day to vote on bills. However, legislative leaders have been holding countless private meetings this week with Governor Terry Branstad’s top staff, to try to draft a spending plan for state government operations.
Lawmakers face a looming deadline of July 1st. That’s the first day of the next fiscal year and there’s no budget plan in place. The main problem is Democrats control the Senate and Republicans control the House, plus the governor is a Republicans, so any spending plan must bridge partisan differences. Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal says after weeks of closed-door meetings, there is an “understanding” between the two sides, but no deal.
House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, a Republican from Hiawatha, says there is a “real possibility” a budget deal might be struck next week.
House Republicans have proposed an overall spending target that is $166 million less than what Republican Governor Terry Branstad and Senate Demorats have proposed. Branstad says he will ensure the final budget plan is “workable and sustainable for the long term” rather than some kind of a “political deal that doesn’t meet the needs to Iowans.”
In 2011, legislators waited ’til June 30th to get a final state budget draft done, voted upon and sent to the governor’s desk for his review.
