This Week at the Statehouse – Week 11
This week, the Iowa House and Senate agreed to a large fiscal year 2018 (FY18) budget adjustment bill that requires numerous state agencies to return current year funds to the state. Fortunately for our students, UNI was held harmless from the rescission.
The deappropriations bill, SF 2117, was adopted this week and will be sent to the Governor for consideration. It is our understanding that she has agreed to this bill and will sign it. The House amended and passed the bill by a vote of 59-41 and the Senate concurred with the House amendment and passed it by a vote of 29-21.
The bill, as amended by House Amendment S-5172, reduces FY 18 state general fund appropriations by a net total of $23.3 million (0.3%). The changes include reductions of $25.5 million to numerous state agencies and an increase of $2.2 million in appropriations for indigent defense and increased utilities costs. The amendment also deappropriates $10 million from an FY 18 appropriation from the Iowa Skilled Worker and Job Creation Fund (SWJCF) for the High Quality Jobs Program, and transfers the $10 million to the state’s general fund. A copy of the analysis from the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency can be found here.
The bill requires the Department of Management (DOM) to submit a report to the General Assembly and the Legislative Services Agency within 15 days of the effective date of the bill, which is upon the signature of the Governor. The report must list how the $25.5 million in appropriation reductions are applied to State agency budgets.
The bill specifically cuts $10,933,070 to the Board of Regents. However, language is included that specifically says “in identifying and implementing the reduction pursuant to this paragraph, the board shall not reduce expenditures made from appropriations for the university of northern Iowa, the state school for the deaf, and the Iowa braille and sight saving school.”
In President Nook’s statement, he noted that UNI's efforts in Des Moines positively impact our ability to deliver a high quality education at a reasonable cost to students and taxpayers. Our thanks to countless students, parents and alumni who took the time to write or call their legislators on our behalf. Thank you all for your ongoing support of UNI.
We are continuing to follow budget developments for FY19, and work closely with the Board of Regents, Iowa legislature and Governor's Office to convey the importance of investing in UNI for the people and industries of Iowa.
Policy Bills sent to the Governor:
HF 2235 - Requires the K-12 statewide assessment be developed by the Iowa Testing program within the University of Iowa.
HF 2354 – Restricts third parties who receive K-12 student data from using it for targeted advertising.
HF 2458 – Implements the Governor’s Future Ready Iowa recommendations. This is the Governor’s priority to help 70 percent of Iowa's workforce to have education, training or recognized certification beyond high school by 2025. There is no money in this bill just policy language; budget issues will come up later this session.
SF 2113 – Starting July 1, 2019, local school boards must require at least one hour annually of evidence-based training in suicide prevention and postvention, based on nationally recognized best practices, in the identification of adverse childhood experiences and strategies to mitigate toxic stress response, for school personnel who have regular contact with students and who hold a license, certificate, authorization, or statement of recognition from the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners.
SF 2131 – Allows home-schooled children to take classes from Iowa Learning Online, at their own expense. An Area Education Agency Online Learning Working Group is established where the AEAs, in collaboration with the community colleges and the department of education, identify effective means by which students may access educational instruction and content online and identify partnerships between existing providers of rigorous and high-quality online coursework. They are to report their findings to the General Assembly by October 15, 2018.