News for December

Budget and policy experts spoke to around 100 people, including seven Iowa legislators, at the Botanical Center in Des Moines for a one-day fiscal policy summit hosted by the Iowa Fiscal Partnership. The summit examined and responded to the balance problem built into Iowa's fiscal structure and budget practices. National and state experts offered their perspectives on tax reform, and discussions were held regarding the various possibilities for reforms in order to create a more sustainable budget for Iowans.

The following presentations from the summit are available for download:

Structural Budget Deficits: The Minnesota Experience

The Roots of Iowa's Revenue Problem

Leveling the Playing Field

Individual Income Tax Reform and Federal Deductibility

Greetings!

I hope you all survived the last few days of what is just the beginning of our Iowa winter weather season!

Can you believe the Legislative session is just a few weeks away? I certainly can't! The Session always seems to sneak up on me.

There have been some very important interim activities that have taken place recently and I want you to be aware of them. The first is the Iowa Efficiency Review report commissioned by Governor Culver with Policy Works and released on December 8th. The second is the approval of the recommendations of the State Government Reorganization Commission.

Some areas of concern for us in the Iowa Efficiency Report include:

Reducing TANF funding for Early Childhood Development as well as funding for Diversion, (currently around 6.5 million is transferred to Empowerment). p. 79

reducing TANF Family Development and Self-Sufficiency (FaDSS),

eliminating TANF funding for Child Abuse Prevention,

eliminating TANF funding for Healthy Opportunities for Parents to Experience Success (HOPES),

eliminating Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) outreach contract,

All of these programs were proposed to be cut (and most were) by the Dept. of Human Services (prior to the release of this efficiency report) in the plan DHS submitted to the Governor for the 10% Across the Board Cuts. Handwriting on the wall?

I do want to make it clear that we believe in doing all we can to make sure that Government is run effectively and efficiently. We also believe that Government should protect its most vulnerable citizens.

With rising poverty and unemployment numbers, there is a clear need to protect vital services and help Iowa families through a tough economy. The number of Iowa families in need of assistance has increased at a level never seen before. The Governor and Legislators recognize that government must tighten its belt, but the state cannot and should not leave its struggling citizens without help. If we keep cutting and cutting programs such as the ones above, where does this leave our children and families?

Please contact your legislators and ask them how they are going to protect our struggling citizens. You can also remind them to put everything on the table when balancing Iowa's budget - we need to address both spending AND revenues.

Best ~

Sheila Hansen

Public Comment Opportunity On Tax Credits

The Tax Credit Review Panel appointed by Governor Culver will hold hearings on the state's tax credits next week. After the hearings that panel will submit a report to the Governor addressing oversight, accountability, transparency, public reporting, cost-benefit, and which programs should be continued, curtailed, and or eliminated.

Some stakeholder organizations, including the Child and Family Policy Center and the Iowa Policy Project among others, have been requested to submit comments at these hearings. From the best information we have right now that list is heavy with organizations that are likely to testify in favor of continuing the tax credits and are unlikely to support significant change in their transparency, cost, or vigorous review.

Toward the end of the hearing the panel will receive comments from members of the public that have not been requested to appear before the panel.

We would like to have significant turnout at these hearings and hope that as many people as possible be prepared to comment at the hearings in favor of transparency, accountability, periodic review, and controlling the cost of these tax credits. You can also just show up in support of and don't have to comment.

Here is the hearing schedule:

Cedar Rapids Public Meeting
Kirkwood Center for Continuing Education
Room 159 D and E
7725 Kirkwood Blvd SW, Cedar Rapids, IA
December 15, 2009, 9:00 a.m.

Urbandale (Des Moines) Public Meeting
Urbandale Public Library
Meeting Room A/B
3520 86th Street, Urbandale, IA
December 16, 2009 1:00 p.m.

In addition to taking testimony at the public hearings, members of the public can submit written testimony through a comment form available on the Governor's website.

Here are some talking points to use when testifying at the hearing or submitting written testimony:

We suggest that all comments start with a preamble that makes the following points:

It will take a balance of revenue and spending measures to resolve Iowa's current budget crisis.
Spending cuts alone cannot solve the problem without creating greater problems in the future.
The public understands this. A recent poll by Selzer & Co. (the same firm that does the Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll) found that 51% of registered voters favored a balanced approach that combines increasing revenues and further spending cuts as the way to address Iowa's budget problem. Only 34% supported spending cuts alone, and 8% supported revenue increases alone.
We have a big budget shortfall but there are many ways to address the problem. Everything should be on the table, including big business tax credits. Are we going to lay off [state troopers, school teachers] and [insert your favorite example here, like cutting a service or raising community college tuition] in order to preserve millions of dollars in tax credits to wealthy corporations?
Appropriations spending is reviewed every year by numerous legislative committees, and the dollars spent must be approved by both houses of the legislature and by the Governor. Tax credits do not get the same scrutiny.
Business tax credits are an expenditure of taxpayer money as much appropriations. However, much of the information about these credits (who gets them how much do they get, their total cost, the jobs created and what they pay) are not readily available to the public.

We have many more talking points that can be shared with you. Please feel free to contact me if you would like them for your testimony or just for your own knowledge.

Voters' Views of Iowa Budget Crisis - and Solutions