Republicans in the Iowa House and the Senate have not yet agreed on how to balance the CURRENT year’s state budget. Republican Charles Schneider of West Des Moines is chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the SENATE, and says they approved their budget-cutting plan two weeks ago.
HOUSE Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake, the legislature’s top Republican, says it makes sense to wait until a new prediction of state tax collections is released March 9th before voting on a final plan.
State tax revenue over the past several weeks has ticked up, partly because of federal tax changes. Upmeyer says she and other Republicans in the HOUSE believe that means the need to cut the current year’s budget is greatly reduced — or perhaps eliminated.
There are 124 days left in the state budgeting plan Republican legislators endorsed last spring.
