“It’s not a great bill for actually cleaning up water”
Des Moines, IA – Today, Iowa Republicans approved a water quality bill crafted behind closed doors with special interests and zero input from Democrats. The bill spends millions of Iowa taxpayer dollars with little accountability, diverts millions from public schools, and makes no substantive changes to actually clean Iowa's impaired waterways.
“Once again, we get a largely symbolic, special interest driven move from Governor Reynolds and her Republican Party instead of a concerted effort to solve Iowa’s problems,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price. “In the middle of a budget crisis and a water quality crisis, Iowa does not have the luxury of letting Governor Reynolds and the Republicans play partisan games with our money.”
Before the bill was taken up and jammed through the legislature, there was already significant skepticism about the actual impact of the legislation:
“It does spend some money. Beyond that it’s not a great bill for actually cleaning up water, it doesn’t really require anyone to do anything, it doesn’t measure success in any meaningful way.” - Todd Dorman, On Iowa Politics
“This proposed spending would all be subject to the budgeting whims of a future legislature; it is another Republican “bait and switch” in the making. Senate File 512 sets no goals. It establishes no watershed management governance. It does not target high-priority watersheds with the state’s investments in water.” – Senator Rob Hogg, Des Moines Register
“The proposed bill (Senate File 512) … does not give Iowans the best return on their investment. The bill increases funding for water quality by pulling from existing sources in the state budget that are not sustainable over time and does not provide an assurance that water quality will be improved.” - Katie Rock, Policy Associate at Center for Rural Affairs & Linda Kinman, Executive Director of Public Policy for Iowa Association for Water Agencies, Cedar Rapids Gazette
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