The Iowa D-O-T’s request for an extra 10-million dollars to cover negotiated salary increases is one of the sticking points that remains as lawmakers struggle to conclude the 2016 legislative session. Republican House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake says House Republicans have asked the D-O-T to find ways to reconfiguring its own budget.
The state gas tax was hiked a dime a gallon a year ago to raise more money for D-O-T construction projects.
Without that extra 10-million, Governor Terry Branstad says some of the D-O-T’s projects could be jeopardized.
That argument does not sway Upmeyer. She says according to next year’s state budget plan that’s nearly complete, every OTHER state agency will have to adjust a “status quo” budget and find the money to cover salary hikes.
