Appropriations – Week of February 24, 2011

STAFF CONTACT:  Theresa Kehoe

HF 45 – Budget Transparency & FY11 Deappropriations

FLOOR ACTION:

HF 45, as passed by the House, is a deappropriation and supplemental appropriation bill for FY11 and repeals a number of standing appropriations for FY12 and FY13. The bill makes a number of changes to Iowa’s budgeting laws. Some of the major programs being repealed are the Voluntary Preschool Program, the Grow Iowa Values Fund, smoking cessation programs, passenger rail, Sustainable Communities (which is the IJOBS disaster prevention grants), and the Save Our Small Business fund. The bill also imposes a $100 monthly fee on state employee health insurance premiums. It creates a new Tax Relief Fund to receive one-time excess funds from the state reserve funds once they are full. The FY12 estimate is $327.4 million. These funds are to be used to provide tax relief as determined by the General Assembly.

The Senate adopted a strike after amendment to HF 45. This is a summary of S-3009:

Division I –

Uniform Provisions: Health Care packages/benefits that are available to legislators and legislative employees will NOT be more lucrative than the packages/benefits offered to Executive Branch employees.

Office Supplies/Out-of-State Travel: Reduces expenditures for office supplies, equipment purchases, printing and binding, and marketing by 50 percent of the unencumbered appropriation. The amendment also prohibits out-of-state travel by department employees funded by any state funds, unless a waiver is approved by the Executive Council. These provisions are estimated to save $3.7 million in FY11 and $1.5 million in other funds through the 50 percent reduction specified.

Adults Not Lawfully Present: Denies any state benefits to any adults not lawfully present in the State of Iowa unless already covered by federal law.

Government Lobbyists: Amends the laws pertaining to lobbying activities by state agencies to include a prohibition on the employment of a person whose position with the agency is primarily representing the agency relative to the passage, defeat, approval or modification of legislation that is being considered by the General Assembly. This is estimated to save $2.37 million from the General Fund in FY12.

Division II – Administration and Regulation

Administration and Regulation Budget Subcommittee Directive: Directs the Administration and Regulation Budget Subcommittee to submit recommendations to the General Assembly’s Appropriations committees by April 4, 2011, on proposed legislation concerning the elimination and selling of the pool of state-owned passenger vehicles located in Polk County and to outsource state vehicle leasing through a private entity. The recommendation shall not include vehicles assigned for law enforcement purposes or for specialized use by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The recommendation should be cost effective. The bill also prohibits the purchase of new general use vehicles through the end of FY11.

Office Space – DAS – Office Space Cost Benefit Analysis: Strikes reference to the Cost Benefit Analysis. Adds language to DAS Code section that specified an office space lease shall not be terminated at a time when either contract damages or early termination penalties may be applicable for doing so.

Sale of Lease of the ICN: The Iowa Telecommunications & Technology Commission is required to implement a Request For Proposals to sell or lease the Iowa Communications Network. The RFP is required to provide for the sale to be concluded or the lease to commence during FY12, which ends June 30, 2012. The Iowa Telecommunications & Technology Commission is required to condition the sale or lease of the ICN with terms that will allow existing authorized users of the ICN to continue such use at a lower overall long-term cost when compared to the anticipated operation and maintenance costs if state ownership and control were to continue. Public funds shall not be used to secure the purchase of the network. Periodic status reports to the General Assembly are required beginning Oct. 1, 2011, regarding progress toward selling or leasing the ICN.

Office Space: Requires the Department of Administrative Services to locate state employees in the most cost efficient way possible but not pay penalties for early termination of leases.

Division III – Economic Development

Repeal Generation Iowa Commission: Eliminates the Generation Iowa Commission.

Corridor Coalition Membership: Prohibits the Department of Economic Development from renewing Iowa’s membership in North America’s Super Corridor Coalition. This saves $50,000 in FY12 from other funds.

Division IV – Education

DE Administration: Reduces funding for Department of Education general administration line-item by $59,000 due to the director position being unfilled.

State Library Acquisitions: Reduces acquisitions for the state library by 50 percent through the end of the fiscal year.

Regents University Leave Limitation: Leave of absence assignments are limited to not more than 3 percent of faculty staff members employed at each of the state institutions. Oversight and reporting are required. This is in effect through June 30, 2012.

Division V – Health and Human Services

Residency Restrictions: Requires the Department of Human Services to enforce residency restrictions for any public benefits.

Area Aging Agencies: Requires the Department on Aging to develop a plan to reduce the number of Area Agencies on Aging.

Health Care Coverage Commission: Reduces funding for the Legislative Health Care Coverage Commission by $155,000. The Commission is extended for two years.

Division VI – Infrastructure and Transportation:

Planting of Wildflowers: Prohibits the Department of Transportation from planting wildflowers unless the agency justifies that the planting is for erosion or weed control or will reduce maintenance costs.

Sustainable Communities: The legislative budget subcommittee on Transportation, Infrastructure & Capitals is to develop by April 4, 2011, recommended implementation provisions to the standing Appropriations Committee, in proposed legislation, concerning reductions of all identifiable appropriations enacted during the 2010 session for purposes of sustainable community’s projects.

Des Moines Chamber Shuttle: Reduces funding for the shuttle service between downtown Des Moines and the Capitol by $75,000.

Division VII – Rebuild Iowa Office

Rebuild Iowa Office: Deappropriates $150,000 from the Rebuild Iowa Office and shuts down the office as scheduled, June 30, 2011. The Justice System Appropriations Subcommittee is directed to identify the appropriate agency to assume the duties of the Rebuild Iowa Office.

Division VIII – Corrective Provisions

Division IX – Government Efficiency Measures

Political Subdivisions – Unexpended Funds: Have each state agency that allocates funds annually to local entities to review their policies and adopt rules that allow the state agencies to recover state funds from current or past allocations in instances when entities that may have received funds have unobligated or unspent funds and the entities no longer meet the qualification for funding.

Transparency Project- Searchable Budget & Tax Rate Databases: Requires the Department of Management to develop and make available to the public, by January 1, 2013, a single, searchable budget database and Internet site. The bill also requires DOM, in consultation with the Department of Revenue, to develop and operate an Internet site by January 1, 2012, that is a searchable database of all the tax rates in the state for each taxing district. In 2010, the Legislature adopted a law that requires the Department of Administrative Services to develop and make available to the public a searchable budget database. [2/17: 48-1 (Chelgren no, Greiner excused)]