Iowa Governor Terry Branstad concedes legislators aren’t going to embrace his idea to shift school infrastructure money to water quality initiatives, but the governor is hoping a smaller scale plan might get approved yet this year.
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Water utilities in Iowa charge the state sales tax to customers and Republicans in the Iowa House are considering the idea of shifting the 28-million dollars in annual water usage taxes to water quality initiatives. G-O-P lawmakers may also dedicate more money in the state’s Resource Enhancement and Protection program to water quality projects. The governor says he’s signalled to legislators that he’s “realistic” and could accept their plan.
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However, the governor says his long-term goal is to revive his idea for extending the sales tax that supports school infrastructure projects for 20 more years, to finance both water quality and school projects.