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Iowa House and Senate far apart on budget, could make for longer session

The 110th calendar day of session is April 30, and that's when per diems for lawmakers run out. But if they cannot agree, it could make for a longer session.

Before the Iowa Legislature can come to a close, the House of Representatives and the Senate must agree on the budgets, and there are some issues between the two chambers.  

Three budget items are holding legislators back:

In terms of the Regents, which controls how much Iowa's three public universities get, there are a few differences.  

The House does not want any budget increase, and doesn't want to replace the recent $8 million cut. They also want to put a freeze on tuition and fees.

The Senate, however, wants to replace that $8 million cut but not give them more money than that. The Senate does not want to take away the right of the universities to raise tuition if they want to.

Neither proposal is even close to the increase the Regents have asked for.

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Next is the Department of Corrections budget.  

The Senate has proposed a $4 million increase, while the House proposed a $20 million increase. 

The Senate and Gov. Kim Reynolds want more income tax cuts to take effect. Right now, in order to trigger another income tax reduction, two conditions must be met

  • The net general fund revenues for the fiscal year equal or exceed $8,314,600,000
  • State revenue must grow by 4%

Iowa will meet the first condition but barely miss the other—noting only 3.8% year-over-year revenue growth—and the Senate wants to remove the conditions of the trigger.  

The House hasn't committed to doing that, saying they want to be cautious.

The 110th calendar day of session is April 30, and that's when per diems for lawmakers run out. But if they cannot agree, it could make for a longer session.

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