House and Senate Make Budget Progress

April 11, 2019

The Iowa House and Senate spent this week debating and passing budget bills to the other chamber to consider and make changes. Although the House and Senate are still working to come to an agreement on the numbers, the fact the bills are being debated is a good sign for a continued push toward adjournment. Here is the most recent status on the budget bills.

The House has passed the following bills out of the chamber or out of committee:

HF 758 – Education Appropriations bill, which includes $14.78 million for Last Dollar Scholarship funding for Future Ready Iowa. The bill passed the House 58-38 on April 4, and a Senate Educations Appropriation subcommittee will now consider the legislation.

HF 765 – RIIF Appropriations. The legislation allocates $200 million for FY20 to improve infrastructure and $24 million in building and facility maintenance. The bill passed the House unanimously on Tuesday and has been assigned a subcommittee in the Senate.

HF 759 – Administration and Regulation Appropriations passed the Iowa House on Tuesday with a party-line vote of 54-56. A few amendments were adopted including $100,000 for outreach to minorities to encourage more voter participation. The bill has been assigned a subcommittee in the Senate.

HF 766 – Health and Human Services Appropriations bill has passed the full committee and is ready for House floor debate. The bill is currently being debated on the House floor. There are more than 20 amendments that have been filed to the bill. The HHS budget is one of the largest budgets for the state.

SF 600 – The House passed the Transportation budget today by a vote of 100-0. The bill has already passed the Senate.

The Senate has advanced the following bills:

SF 609 – Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations passed the Senate on a party-line vote of 32-18 on Monday. The House Agriculture Budget Subcommittee passed the Senate bill with a strike-after amendment. The bill is expected to pass out of the full House Appropriations Committee today.

SF 616 – Judicial Appropriations passed the full Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday. This bill funds the court system for the state and establishes the salary of judges.

SF 615 – The Justice System budget passed the full Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday. This budget bill appropriates $579 million from the General Fund to fund several state agencies such as Human Rights, Homeland Security, Public Defender’s office and state correctional institutions. The bill will be eligible for debate in the Senate early next week.

SF 608 is the Economic Development and Iowa Workforce Development Appropriations bill and is also ready for floor debate. There are currently 11 amendments on the legislation ranging from flood relief to intergovernmental transfer of funds. The bill is expected to be debated next week. This budget bill is also where interest off the unemployment reserve fund is used to fund IWD field offices around the state. The legislation also contains $1.2 million for the Employer Innovation Fund, which is a part of Future Ready Iowa.