Bacon Beacon
STATE REPRESENTATIVE ROB BACON Forty-Eighth District Statehouse: (515) 281-3221 e-mail:
[email protected]
House of Representatives +
COMMITTEES
State of Iowa Eighty-Sixth General Assembly STATEHOUSE
Human Resources, Vice Chair Natural Resources State Government Appropriations
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Week Five February 12, 2015
Health and Human Services
Small Business Tax Cut Senate File 126, a bill which updates Iowa tax code with tax changes made by the federal government last year, resulting in close to $100 million in tax cuts for Iowa small businesses. The bill also includes tax deductions of up to $250 for out-of-pocket expenses for teachers, tuition and fees deduction for higher education expenses, and deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. Small businesses are the backbone of our Iowa communities. I am pleased to support this bill and will continue to look for ways to return more money to the hardworking taxpayers of Iowa. The bill, which passed the Senate and the House, marks the first bill of the session sent to the governor for his consideration. School Start Date Bill Moves Forward The House Committee on Education moved forward on a bill adjusting the start date for Iowa’s schools. The bill put before the committee changes the start date from the week of September 1st to August 23rd, requiring all schools to start on or after August 23rd. The waiver provision currently allowed under Iowa law is removed by the bill. The bill passed on a party-line vote of 13-9. The topic was propelled into a large discussion last fall when Governor Branstad sent a letter to the Department of Education Director, Brad Buck, asking the department to make a change in the way it interprets Iowa law regarding start dates. Iowa Code chapter 279.10 defines the beginning of the school year as not starting “sooner than a day during the calendar week in which the first day of September falls.” This year September 1 fell on a Monday, meaning that Monday, September 1st , is the earliest legally allowed first day of school.
The law allows an out, however, for districts who want to start earlier. The Director of the Department of Education may grant a waiver request for a district to start earlier if starting during the first week of September would have a “significant negative educational impact.” Therein lies the main ihessue.
There is no definition for “significant negative educational impact” and the Department in the past has opined that its legal authority to define it is questionable at best. The practical result of this is that if a district applies to start early, the Department has not made a determination on any reason for the waiver request and it has been the practice for the Department to simply grant any waivers requested. Essentially it’s a rubber stamp on the request. This is the practice Governor Branstad has asked the Department to end. It clearly will be an issue for the state going forward, as the latest Department data shows that 336 of Iowa’s 338 school districts were granted waivers to start early this school year. That leaves 2 that didn’t. This could potentially impact every school district in Iowa, depending on how the Department chooses to move forward. The bill is eligible for House Floor consideration at this point. A Senate bill is also moving through the process on the Senate side currently which at this point in time allows school districts to set their calendars when they choose. I would like to hear your thoughts regarding the starting dates for our schools in Iowa. January Figures Bring State Revenue Concerns State revenues fell in January, raising concerns that the state may not meet last December’s projection for growth during the current fiscal year. January’s General Fund revenue was $29.5 million (-5.0%) below what the state took in during January 2014. This put revenue growth for the first seven months at a positive $152.4 million, or growth of 4.1 percent. While still positive, state revenue had grown by 5.8 percent through December 2014. Compared to the Revenue Estimating Conference’s FY 2015 projection in December, actual revenue growth is behind the 6.8 percent increase projected. In terms of actual dollars, actual returns are $100.6 million behind the REC projection. Sales and Use Tax collections were also below the previous January’s level, with the difference being a negative 6.7 percent this month. Corporate income tax collections for January came in at $32.6 million. This figure is 30.8 percent lower than the January 2014 figure of $47.1 million.
I enjoyed meeting with Brandon Arkland and his Mother, from Webster City, during their visit to the Iowa State Capitol.
Closing Thoughts We have been very busing during these first few weeks of session as we file our bills and begin the process of holding our subcommittee hearings. As we get into the “meat” of the session, many more topics will come to the forefront, I will do my best to keep you informed. Please feel free to contact me at
[email protected] I hope everyone has a fun and safe week!
