Democrats open Legislature with vow to follow through
"I'm telling you that we will keep our commitments," Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal said. "You have my word on it."
That includes increasing pay for teachers, expanding preschool, creating a fund to spur development of renewable energy, and providing more Iowans with health insurance, said Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs.
"Too often in the past dozen years, the Legislature has failed to keep its promises," he said. "And when you fail to keep your promises, people wonder if you will ever do what you say you will do."
Meanwhile, Republicans came out swinging, complaining that the Democrats won't overhaul the state's property tax system as promised, or cut taxes for low- and middle-income Iowans, prevent gay marriage, or protect the state's highways and bridges from an incident like the collapse of the Interstate Highway 35W bridge in Minnesota.
Republican leaders said they're worried, and they think the people of Iowa should be worried, too.
"Literally, all of government in the state of Iowa is under control of the Democrats," said Ron Wieck, the Senate minority leader. He said it troubles him that the Democratic majority keeps proposing policies that are "anti-business, anti-growth, anti-student, and anti-job."
Most troubling is a looming property tax increase, said Christopher Rants, the House minority leader.
Homeowners and farmers could shoulder an extra $500 million in property taxes over the next six years, according to a report by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency. That would be the increase in city and county property taxes after six years if those governments keep their tax rate at the current level.
"If you think your taxes are high now — you ain't seen nothin' yet," said Rants, a Sioux City Republican.
For 20 years, the percentage of a home's value subject to property tax has been going down, which has held down property taxes.
But in the next six years, the trend will reverse. That's because state law ties the taxable value of homes to agriculture. When farm productivity goes up, so do the tax bills on homes.
"Property taxpayers are right to be worried — no, not worried — angry about their tax bill," Rants said. "Last year they heard promise after promise that something would be done, and every promise was broken."
Wieck, who is also a Republican from Sioux City, said overspending would cause the state to be short about $450 million dollars for next year's budget.
There will be no shortfall, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Lawmakers typically have "wish list budget items," and will have to whittle down spending on some of them to balance the budget.
"It is going to be a tight budget, but there is no structural hole," said McCarthy, a Des Moines Democrat. "Fully funding all of our wishes is different than an actual shortfall."
Priorities will be $100 million over four years for the so-called Iowa Power Fund for renewable energy development, $15 million in the coming year for expanded preschool, $75 million for teacher pay increases and about $10 million to cover about 6,000 more children and 9,000 parents with Hawk-I health insurance.
