Mar 29, 2019

This Week at the Statehouse – Week 11

This week, a few budget bills have been introduced and debated.

HSB 248 – House Education Budget bill

SF 608 – Senate Economic Development Budget bill

SSB 1251 – Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Bill (water quality/soil conservation)

The House education budget subcommittee passed HSB 248 out of subcommittee on a party-line vote of 5-4 on March 27; the bill awaits debate in the House Appropriations Committee. The bill appropriates:

  • $15.9 million to the Board of Regents to distribute to the three universities for general aid operating budgets. This is $2.1 million below the Board and the Governor’s recommendation of $18 million ($4 million for UNI and $7 million each to ISU and UI). The money is to support new strategic initiatives, meet needs caused by enrollment increases, meet the demand for new courses and services, to fund new but unavoidable or mandated cost increases, and to support any other initiatives important to the core functions of the universities.
  • $1 million increase for the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, which is housed at UNI.
  • Status quo funding of $175,256 for UNI’s recycling and reuse center.
  • Status quo funding of $125,302 for UNI’s real estate education program.

On March 28, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted the economic development budget bill on a party-line vote of 12-8; the bill awaits full Senate floor debate. The bill provides the following to UNI:

  • Maintains the $1,066,419 appropriation for the metal casting center, the MyEntreNet internet application, and the Institute for Decision Making. From this appropriation, $617,638 is allocated to support entrepreneurs though UNI’s Center for Business Growth and Innovation and Advance Iowa.
  • A new $250,000 appropriation, plus three full-time employee positions, to support staffing, equipment and technology for the expansion of the UNI Metal Casting Center's additive manufacturing capabilities related to investment castings technology and industry support. This is partial funding of our requested $400,000.
  • Maintains the $3 million appropriation for the Regents Innovation Fund; UNI’s Business and Community Services (BCS) receives $900,000 from this appropriation.

The free speech on campus bill, SF 274, was signed into law this week. The bill went into effect upon enactment of March 27, 2019.  The Board of Regents is currently working on the required policy, as outlined in the bill.

Committee action continues to occur as lawmakers are trying to get their policy bills voted out of committee prior to the second funnel, which is April 5.  This is when Senate bills and joint resolutions must be reported out of House committees and House bills and joint resolutions must be reported out of Senate committees. This deadline does not apply to appropriations, taxes and government oversight legislation.