(Radio Iowa) – Lawmakers are entering the 16th week of this year’s legislative session with an overall state spending target, but House and Senate Republicans have not yet agreed on a property tax reform plan. Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says key lawmakers spent the weekend starting to iron out the details of a nine-point-six BILLION dollar state budget. That’s about a one-point-four percent increase.
“One step closer to us getting out of here this year,” Klimesh said. “…Even though the path may appear to be simple it often lies hidden in complexities, you know. I think both the House and Senate are very optimistic that we’re close to coming to consensus on some of the other issues we have in front of us, which leads us to a path to adjourn.”
Major differences remain between the property tax plans House and Senate Republicans.favor. Senate Republicans propose a limit on property tax growth that would range between two and five percent, based on the inflation rate, while House Republicans propose a hard cap of two percent. House Speaker Pat Grassley says there may be a way to produce a hybrid of the two plans, but Republicans in the House believe there must be firm constraints that provide certainty for property owners.
“I stand here with a level of optimism that we’ll be able to find a solution,” Grassley said. “…We’ve traditionally been able to find a way to do hard things up here between the Senate, the House and the governor over the last several years. In my most recent meetings with Senator Klimesh, I still have a positive feeling that we’re moving in the right direction.” Democrats, who hold a minority of seats in the legislature, are not involved in the negotiations.
House Democratic Leader Brian Meyer says it appears to him that Republicans have no idea what they’re going to do on property taxes. “Just in general they have not addressed quality of life issues here in Iowa,” Meyer said. “They have not addressed lowering costs.” Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner says Democrats joined Republicans to support the property tax plan that cleared the Senate earlier this month because it offered some flexibility so local governments could keep providing essential services.
“I worry that in a rush to come to some conclusion that we may end up with something that’s less than ideal,” Weiner said. Three Democrats joined most House Republicans last week to advance the House G-O-P’s property tax alternative. Republican Representative Carter Nordman of Dallas Center says this is how the legislative process works. “It’s messy. It’s supposed to be,” Nordman said. “It’s supposed to be hard to get difficult bills across the finish line.”
Nordman is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Republican Senator Dan Dawson, chairman of the SENATE Ways and Means Committee, says property tax reform is not a buffet of items you get to pick and choose from and senators did their home work and produced a plan that overhauls the property tax system.
