Government : In the Statehouse: Legislators discussing money in many ways

The weatherman was right this time. We are buried in the heavy, perfect snowman making snow here in Des Moines. It is beautiful and a back breaker! Aren’t you thankful for our Snow Warriors who clear it all up for us?

What’s happening in the statehouse? Some of us are looking to get money back into your wallet and some of us are wanting to take some more out. And then there is everyone else. Conservation wants us to increase the sales tax another penny. That would take us up to 8 cents on the dollar when you count the school and local penny and 3/8ths of that cent would go to Conservation. The House voted to give K-12 education another $80 per pupil, which is another $100 million, but they wanted $240 million. Plus, we have big infrastructure needs and are trying to figure out how to get $210 million more a year of ongoing money into the Road Use Tax Fund.

Almost every conversation involves someone needing money, but the elephant in the room nobody is talking about -- the looming dollar increase needed to completely fund Medicaid. In 2011, the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) was 63.51%. For every dollar spent, the federal government paid $ .6351. The FMAP has decreased every year and the state has picked up more of the cost each of those years. With 54.91% as the 2016 FMAP, we are expecting to need an additional $150 million over last year to fund it completely for a total of $1,574,569,144. The Health and Human Services Appropriations Chair, Rep. Heaton, is walking around shaking his head wondering how he is going to solve this one. Every budget impacts Iowans, but this one hits the most vulnerable people and there are no busses full of poor people coming to the Capitol to lobby us. We just know we have to take care of them.

It is our job to prioritize all of these different needs. Each person we talk to has their own important area and it is critical to visit with them to know, but at the end of the day, we have to filter it all together. Sounds complicated, but it is exactly like your home budgets, only bigger. Not rocket science to know that when you add to one, you take from another or if you reach a (minus), you need to do something different. Don’t worry, we’ll get to it.

Thanks for all of the great feedback on Questions of the Week. It definitely helps me to hear from you and gauge if it’s close or a runaway one way or the other. This week, you get a break!

If you have any concerns or need me, give me a call at 515-281-6879 or send an email to dawn.pettengill@legis.iowa.gov. Have a great week and stay warm!