(DES MOINES) – Today, Gov. Branstad released his revised 2017 budget to the Iowa General Assembly. The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) met on March 16, 2016 to review the Fiscal Year 2017 and establish Fiscal Year 2018 General Fund revenue estimates. After accounting for enacted federal law changes passed after the December 2015 REC meeting, the REC for Fiscal Year 2017 lowered the General Fund revenue estimate $46.4 million.
Iowa Code 8.21 requires that if the REC lowers the revenue estimate being used in the budget process, the Governor shall transmit recommendations for a budget in conformance of the revised revenue estimate in fourteen days. Also, the Governor incorporates passed legislation which impacts the General Fund budget. These include House File 2433, Internal Revenue Code Update and Manufacturing Consumables bill, and Senate File 174 and Senate File 175, which establish the percent of growth for Supplemental State Aid.
“Our state budget is extremely tight and we need to be very careful and cautious about spending. The latest REC numbers reflect the financial realities of an economy that has been hit hard by many factors including last year’s devastating bird flu and a reduction in farm income,” said Branstad. “While this budget is a challenge for everybody, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. I look forward to working with leaders in the House and Senate to reach a compromise on the state budget in the near future.”
The revised budget can be found here.
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