Week 16 marks the unofficial end of session as the per diem paid to legislators runs out on the 110th day since it began back in January. When legislators return to Des Moines on Monday they will be doing so on their own dime. This will be the 4th of the last five years that legislators have worked overtime to conclude their business (perhaps it is a product of split control during that entire time period, with the House controlled by Republicans and the Senate by Democrats).
While no budget accords were reached this week, each Chamber did begin the process of producing budget bills based on their wildly different budget targets (see last week’s update to review). At the very least this moves the process forward whereby many of the budget bills will find their way to a conference committee and be positioned for quick action once a negotiated budget settlement is produced.
With the various players in the budget debate any where from $166 million to $188 million apart, this process likely has at least a few weeks to go until we see a possible end for the 2015 Session of the Iowa General Assembly.
View the Iowa Legislative Bill Tracker.
- Judicial Branch appropriations, SF 496, passed on a 26-24 vote.
- Justice System appropriations, SF 497, passed on a 26-24 vote.
- Education appropriations, SF 493, passed on a 26-24 vote.
- Administration and Regulation appropriations, SF 498, passed on a 26-24 vote.
- Economic Development appropriations, SF 499, passed on a 26-24 vote.
- Federal Block Grants, HF 630, passed on a 50-0 vote.
- Transportation appropriations, HF 635, passed on a 43-7 vote.
House budget bills moved this week: the Iowa House also moved a number of budget bills this week and others were still pending at the time this newsletter was published. Here is what moved: