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Representative Ro Foege
Report from the Iowa Legislature
April 18, 2004
The End is Near
The 2004 legislative session is nearing the end. Hopefully, by the time this
article is published, we will be adjourned. Usually, there are a few 11th
hour surprises. Let’s hope they are good ones for the people of Iowa.
Several major pieces of legislation must be passed by the House and the
Senate to open the way for adjournment. The Gambling bill passed the House
and will return to the Senate. The bill as passed will allow the expansion
of gambling in Iowa. I voted against expansion of gambling.
The other big item is the budget bill. The House passed the $4.6 billion
bill and then hung onto it rather than sending it to the Senate, in order to
fine tune it if necessary. That means parents and students still have hope
that school aid for the next two school years can be set at some more
adequate amount. We are cautiously optimistic that the school allowable
growth for 2005-2006 could move up to at least 4%.
Last Friday the House debated a bill that some have called “people’s right
to vote” law. Although the bill passed in the House by a narrow margin, I
opposed the measure. Senate Joint Resolution 2010 is legislation that would
require voter approval of any increase in state spending beyond 1 percent of
the state budget per year. According to this bill, if a tax or fee exceeds
1% of the state budget ($44 million today), the legislature cannot raise
fees or taxes without going to the voters. If the increase is under $44
million, it does not require voter approval; so, hang on to your wallet! If
it becomes law, Iowans will be nickeled and dimed to death with new fees.
Every Iowan will be hit with some kind of fee increase if SJR 2010 becomes
part of the Iowa Constitution. Based on the experience of other states that
have passed this kind of legislation, automobile owners will see their title
surcharge increase. Corporations that file annual reports with the state
will see the filing fees go up. Gun owners, when they purchase a license,
will see a fee increase. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, realtors,
dentists, chiropractors, social workers and every other occupation that is
licensed in Iowa will see fee increases. I have a twelve page listing (in
very small print) of all the fees Iowans pay that could be affected by this
legislation.
Once the current fee payers have been nickeled and dimed to death,
legislators in Iowa will do what legislators in other states have done. They
will create new fees that Iowans will be forced to pay.
Iowans already have the opportunity to vote on tax issues. They can grill
candidates for public office on whether they will increase taxes or not, and
can then make an informed decision on whether to vote for that candidate or
not.
Every two years, Iowans have the “right to vote” for their state
representative and state senator. Legislators do not raise taxes lightly.
Income tax rates have not increased since 1975 but have been cut twice since
then. The sales tax has not increased since 1992, but has been phased out on
utility bills. If the voters do not like how their elected officials voted,
they have the “right to vote” them out of office.
We learned from an Iowa Public Health Research Survey that 71% of Iowans
approve of a tobacco excise tax increase. Over half of those polled believed
the tax should be .50˘ or more. Fifty cents per pack of cigarette increase
would generate about $110 million in new revenue to the state. Since that is
more than 1% of the state budget, it would require a state-wide vote of the
people.
If the Legislature and the Governor did agree to raise the tobacco excise
tax, the vote of the people would not happen until the next general
election. So if legislators decided in January, 2005 that a tax increase was
needed to make sure that health care needs of Iowa seniors and children was
adequate, the new tax could not go into effect until after the 2006
election. This could be too late to solve the problem. I can almost assure
you that the Medicaid budget will be in dire straits and we may be in an
emergency situation by next January. Another problem with the bill is
although taxes could be increased in an “emergency,” it would be up to the
Supreme Court to determine what is or is not an emergency.
Going to a vote of the people sounds great until you read the small print. I
heard from many of you asking me to oppose this measure and I did vote
against the bill. It did pass the House late Friday afternoon by a vote of
51-48 and now goes to the Senate where it will probably receive approval.
Then, it has to pass both the House and Senate again next year for the act
to become part of the Iowa Constitution.
I do appreciate hearing from constituents. You can write me at the State
Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call me at 515/281-3221 or e-mail me at
ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.
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