Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
February
5th
Following last week’s release of Governor Culver’s proposed budget, the Senate’s passage of a government re-organization bill was the most notable event in the Iowa Statehouse this week.
Because Iowa’s budgets are built on the level of spending from the previous year’s budget, lawmakers are faced with an record deficit as a result of too much irresponsible and unsustainable spending. The Legislature cannot adjourn this winter until it has dealt with Iowa’s unprecedented $1 billion self-inflicted deficit. Unlike Washington D.C., Iowa’s Constitution thankfully requires a balanced budget.
With this news, Governor Culver, late last year, hired an expensive out-of-state consultant using taxpayer dollars to offer areas where Iowa could re-organize government. In December, these consultants published a document suggesting Iowa could save $1.7 billion over five years with hundreds of millions of the savings in the first year alone. While the projections and expectations were impressive, there was very little evidence to support the consultants’ claims.
Soon after, a select few of the lawmakers took the consultants’ report and began crafting their own government re-organization bill. With expectations for that bill to bring about savings of $341 million dollars right away, they sent it off to the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency to be analyzed and scored. The non-partisan analysts returned an estimate of approximately $71 million in savings. When that estimate is added to the projected savings from an executive order containing management changes and an early retirement plan, the real amount of savings is actually only a small fraction of what the people of Iowa were lead to believe by Governor Culver and legislative Democrats just weeks ago.
Yet, those numbers are not just being used to discuss the re-organization bill – they are also part of Governor Culver’s proposed budget. This act alone, could become another financial headache for Iowa’s taxpayers. Earlier this week, the governor was quoted in The Des Moines Register telling reporters not to nit pick over the numbers he used in his budget even though they were much more generous than the real numbers used by the non-partisan analysts. He called the tens of millions of dollars in difference between his numbers and the real numbers “a minor difference.”
How many Iowa families or employers could afford another of Governor Culver’s unbalanced budgets and the consequences that would bring? The likely result would be another across-the-board cut which would lead to another of Governor Culver’s job-killing property tax increases.
Nonetheless, the Iowa Senate debated and passed a government re-organization bill this week. Senate Republicans offered over fifteen amendments and provided a different perspective to the re-organization process. Since many of the Democrat proposals are short-term and merely just shift costs around without saving money, Senate Republicans offered amendments that would fundamentally and systemically reform government. Unfortunately, most were defeated on partisan lines.
Our goal is and will continue to be to dramatically and systemically reform government and save the taxpayers more of their hard earned money. With the belief that real government re-organization begins with the understanding that we must end the culture of reckless spending that has permeated state government the last three years, here is just a sampling of the common sense amendments and solutions that Senate Republicans presented during debate.
We offered to sunset all government programs over a four year period. This would allow the Legislature and agencies to see whether each program is producing results. From there, decisions can be made on whether we cut or continue each program.
We also want to force a two-thirds vote on the passage of all bonding bills in the Legislature. In the past few years, it’s been the bond spending that has increased our deepening financial hole. Had this rule already been in place, Governor Culver’s unpopular temporary make-work program would not have been enacted. This idea alone, had it been in place last year, would have saved taxpayers $1.7 billion dollars. We also put forward a proposal that the Legislature pass a Constitutional Amendment that limits state spending to no more than 99 percent of revenues. To Senate Republicans, it’s just common sense not to have the state spend more than it takes in.
Senate Republicans also put forward ideas that would get public employee wages in line with the private sector and require those employees to share in the cost of their health insurance, thereby building a stronger partnership between government and our public employees. We also think it is past time to end the practice of taxpayer funded lobbyists.
In an era where so many decisions seem to happen behind closed doors and there is a deficit of accountability and transparency, Senate Republicans proposed solutions that would give taxpayers new benchmarks so they are more aware of what their government is doing. Just one example would be to have the State Auditor create measurements that oversee the reorganization process.
However, the House of Representatives has yet to begin full debate on their bill and it is likely that they will eventually pass something that is different from the Senate. House Republicans have already indicated they plan to offer an additional $290 million in savings, though it is unclear whether Democrats will accept their plans or vote them down in partisan fashion. Before any bill makes it to the governor’s desk, identical bills will have to pass both chambers so there is much yet to be decided.
Though some aspects of the bill are a positive step forward, Senate Republicans believe we should continue to strive for fundamental, systemic reforms. Republicans will continue to offer our ideas in hopes of improving the bill when it comes back for debate in the Senate. This opportunity still presents a wonderful chance to not only reorganize but also reduce government and as always.
Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
January
29th
Governor Culver finally unveiled his proposed budget for the next fiscal year this week. Even though the Legislature has yet to begin its work in earnest on the new budget, the governor’s suggestions provide the taxpayers an early view of what they might expect. As it looks now, if the governor’s plan is adopted, Iowans can expect more of the same fiscal problems that have plagued our state during the last three years.
Last year, Governor Culver signed the largest budget in state history at a time when our economy could not support it. As Republicans, we offered hundreds of millions in common sense savings but nearly all were ignored or voted down in partisan fashion.
Only months later, after the governor had denied he spent too much all summer long, he could no longer ignore his unbalanced budget any longer. He was forced to make a ten percent across-the-board cut in October. Unfortunately, this was all avoidable.
To be clear, Iowa does not have a revenue problem – we have a severe spending problem. Governor Culver should have scaled back his spending, listened to Iowans and accepted the Republican solutions. There was a real opportunity to sign a sensible budget that reflects the true priorities of our citizens. Iowans did not receive the fiscal leadership they deserved.
As the new budget discussions begin anew, Governor Culver has a fresh opportunity to put Iowa back on a path of sustainable and responsible spending that does not add to the tax load already burdening taxpayers. The question is, will he take this occasion to do just that?
If his initial budget outline is any indication, that answer is no. His new proposed spending is over $400 million dollars larger than the level the state’s budget is at today. At a time when families and employers are still forced to make sacrifices and cut backs, the spending increases continue.
Unless a more fiscally responsible vision for Iowa is adopted in the coming weeks, Iowans will continue to see their taxes increase. Already, Governor Culver’s actions have lead to property tax increases estimated at approximately $270 million dollars. He likes to say he has not raised taxes but Iowans know better and they can point to their property tax bills to prove it.
This new budget is also crafted by continuing the practice of using one-time dollars for ongoing expenses. He plans to raid Iowa’s savings and rainy day funds by over $200 million dollars, leaving the state’s reserves dangerously low. He continues the practice of using one-time federal bailout dollars that will not be available in the years ahead. Unless the programs are ended, a new revenue source will have to be found to pay for them and that will result in higher taxes.
Much of his projections are based on hypothetical savings from an out-of-state, highly taxpayer paid consultant. Yet, when the non-partisan analysts who work for Legislature look at the same proposals, they find results that are only small fractions of what was originally touted. For example, the consultants said one all-inclusive aspect of the government re-organization bill being pushed through the Legislature in the next few days would save $200 million dollars. Yet, when the non-partisan analysts scored it, they found it to be closer $43 million. Those kinds of financial discrepancies are found in several aspects of the governor’s budget statement and could easily leave the state’s budget unbalanced by hundreds of millions of dollars if not corrected.
If Iowans are looking for bold action in making it easier for jobs to be created, this budget proposal is also sure to disappoint. Senate Republicans believe this session should be all about jobs and growing our state. Governor Culver continues to only focus on trying to create temporary government make-work positions through his unsuccessful I-Jobs debt program, but nowhere in his budget does he make it clear that long-term private sector job creation is a priority. Instead, the higher property taxes that will come as a result of this budget are only going to erect more barriers to the creation of real sustainable jobs.
Not a single Republican in either the House or Senate voted for the budget last year because we all understood the people of Iowa were sick of the out-of-control spending and we knew the budget was unbalanced.
As Republicans, we will continue to offer our suggestions and solutions because Iowans want their senators and representatives to work hard on their behalf. But if the unfettered spending continues as it has the past three years, you can expect Senate Republicans to once again cast our votes in favor of families’ budgets rather than bigger government budgets.
Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
January
29th
Area Republican legislators are generally wary of Culver’s proposals. They see too much spending and too many efforts to shift income burdens from the state to local governments. Their Democrat counterparts have their own questions but are generally more receptive to the governor’s plan.
Differences between a governor’s proposed budget and the finished product are old news. Governors are required to propose a budget, legislators to pass one. But nothing in any state’s constitution says the two packages have to be anything like one another. The only rule is they must be balanced.
Sen. Minority Leader Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, doesn’t think Culver’s budget as written can get there.
“We’re still trying to analyze the budget. On the first run things don’t add up, so we hope this is a first draft,” he said.
Read the entire article on the Ottumwa Courier website.
Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
January
29th
Senate GOP Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton said a preliminary review indicates the governor is seeking to use $387 million in one-time money on top of his $5.32 billion general fund appropriations to spend more than $5.7 billion in fiscal 2011.
“This is just a continuation of the governor not living within his means,” McKinley said. “This creates a major problem down the road.”
Read the entire article on the Quad City Times website.
Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
January
27th
DES MOINES, IA - Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley (R-Chariton) today released the following statement regarding the release of Governor Culver’s proposed budget for FY2011:
“Senate Republicans are not interested in supporting a state budget that merely shifts the tax burden onto property taxes.”
