(DES MOINES) – Today, at the Administration’s weekly press conference, Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad took the opportunity to address and reflect on the 2016 legislative session. By law, Gov. Branstad now has 30 days from the end of the session to carefully review the bills passed by the Iowa Legislature. Gov. Branstad reiterated his, and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds’, commitment to ensure the state budget balances, continues to fit within the five-year budgeting projections, and honors the commitments made in the past to the Teacher Leadership System and property tax relief.
Gov. Branstad also provided thoughts and highlighted some of the successes of the session including:
A BALANCED AND STABLE BUDGET FOR IOWA FAMILIES, BUSINESSES AND TAXPAYERS
“On the second day of the legislative session, we offered a budget that was balanced and stable and fits within our five year projections. However, declining revenues as a result of a tough farm economy and lower commodity prices and an increasingly competitive world economy forced the Iowa Legislature to make hard choices in terms of spending. I’m pleased that once again we are able to deliver a budget for Iowa families, businesses and taxpayers that is balanced—keeping us on sound footing for a prosperous future.”
JOBS: BUILDING ON RENEWABLE ENERGY LEADERSHIP
“Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable energy. Today, wind generates over 30% of Iowa’s electric generation; more than any other state in the country. In April, MidAmerican Energy announced the largest economic development investment in our state’s history with an over $3.6 billion investment which will create over 2,000 additional megawatts of power for our state. That investment boosts the share of the electricity we generate from wind to over 40% by 2020. Every wind turbine you see while driving across our state means income for farmers, revenue for local governments and jobs for Iowa families.
Iowa is the first state in the country to adopt a biochemical tax credit that will create more high-quality jobs and spur innovation in products from renewable fuels. This bi-partisan program will put Iowa in a position to build new cutting edge bio-industries by leveraging homegrown, renewable resources to produce the next generation of building-block chemicals.”
JOB CREATING TAX CUT AND CERTAINTY FOR MANUFACTURERS
“As Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds and I visited the largest industry cluster of job providers in our state, manufacturers, we often heard about the complexity of the revenue code when determining what machinery and equipment in a business qualify for a sales tax exemption. 15% of all disputes heard by the Department of Revenue were heard by this sales exemption alone. I’m pleased that we were able to provide clarity for manufacturers by codifying these specific sales tax exemptions into law.”
A SAFER IOWA: CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS
Human Trafficking
“Human trafficking is one of most heinous crimes that a criminal can commit. Both in 2015 and 2016, Iowa has taken a stand against human trafficking by making reforms that will better allow us to root out this evil in our state. This year, legislation was passed and I signed into law a bill that creates within the Department of Public Safety, an Office to Combat Human Trafficking. This newly created office will serve as the focal point of coordinating efforts between all federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to combat the merciless crimes related to human trafficking.”
Juvenile Records
“Last year, I was invited to address the NAACP’s Iowa Summit on Justice and Disparities. At the Summit, I announced the formation of a bi-partisan working group on justice policy reform that was tasked with researching and making policy recommendations to my office. This group, worked on a tight timeline to put forth recommendations that could be acted on this session. I’m pleased that one of the major recommendations, making juvenile records for offenders confidential, passed on an overwhelming bi-partisan basis. This legislation now ensures fairness for juvenile offenders and will not allow a youthful mistake to become a lifelong barrier for a successful life and career.”
Sentencing Reform
“As I indicated in my Condition of the State address, in many instances, tax dollars may be better spent on rehabilitation rather than incarceration. Ensuring we strive for a fairer and more equitable criminal justice system to align with the long-term interests of taxpayers means taking a hard look at sentencing reform. Because of the approach we have taken, we have seen a decline in our prison population and simultaneously a reduction in the rate of recidivism in Iowa. We’re glad to see the legislature make reforms on sentencing for criminals that will allow greater flexibility for judges and make reforms to mandatory minimum sentences while protecting the public.”
BULLYING
“Again this year, Iowa took an important step toward better addressing the pervasive problem of bullying in our schools. I was proud to sign a bill that now allows a student who has been the target of a founded incident of bullying and who open enrolls into a new district to be able to play varsity sports right away, rather than be punished by sitting out. This bill is in keeping with Executive Order 86, which I signed last year, calling for this change. The Governor’s Office for Bullying Prevention, created out of legislation last year, had been working to make it happen and I’m pleased we were able to take another step to help protect our students in the classroom.”
WATER QUALITY
“Just before my Condition of the State address in January, Lt. Gov. Reynolds and I stood up with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and education and agriculture leaders from around the state and offered a bold plan to dedicate long-term funding for both water quality and education infrastructure in our state without raising taxes. From the beginning, we offered this plan as a framework and welcomed ideas that others may have in addressing water quality.
The Iowa House of Representatives responded by approving bipartisan legislation, providing a distribution system similar to the one we recommended, while allocating more than $732 million over the next 13 years to water quality projects. We worked closely with legislators on this proposal and supported the progress and approach that was taken. However, we’re very disappointed that Senate Democratic leadership decided to bury the House bill with no debate and offering no alternative. Water quality is a critical issue and we will continue to work to build support for a long-term funding solution to address water quality efforts in Iowa.”
###
