Branstad emphasizes budget cuts, economic development, water quality funding, education, and public safety
January 12, 2017
On Tuesday, Gov. Terry Branstad delivered his final Condition of the State address to a joint session of the Iowa Legislature. Although this will most likely be his final address to the legislature, he laid out a bold agenda for the year. Among the highlights:
- two-year budget plan
- increased funding for education
- water quality funding (House File 2541), which passed the Iowa House last year
- collective bargaining reform, specifically related to state employee health care plans
- growing Iowa’s skilled workforce through STEM and Future Ready Iowa
The governor also touted 2017 as the Year of Manufacturing and charged the Economic Development Authority with carrying out initiatives to work with manufacturers to increase manufacturing in the state of Iowa. The Governor’s agenda and budget can be found here.
Read More: Branstad's agenda: Clean water, computer ed, traffic safety (Des Moines Register)
Legislators react to Branstad's 'historic' speech (Radio Iowa)