The 2021 session is now in its second week of overtime. Republicans– who control the House, Senate and Governor’s office– are still not in agreement with each other about the state budget, tax issues and various policy items. The longer the session drags on, the more uncertainty it creates as the next fiscal year (which begins on July 1) looms.
Earlier this session, I supported comprehensive tax relief for Iowans when the Senate unanimously passed SF 576, a bipartisan compromise that would have speeded up income tax cuts for more Iowans and phased out the inheritance tax. Reasonable people could disagree on this proposal, but it was a fair compromise that did more good than harm. Unfortunately, the House did not take up the bill.
The biggest sticking point to wrapping up the session is tax and spending legislation that has been presented in a variety of forms over the last few months. Senate Republicans have now signed onto a complex bill proposed as a “compromise” by the Governor– but this bill, SF 619, is not a bipartisan compromise and may have some dire consequences.
Specifically, the bill will force homeowners and farmers to pay higher property taxes by ending the commercial property tax “backfill.” This backfill was a bipartisan promise to local governments and taxpayers in exchange for lowering commercial property taxes. State dollars replace lost funding that helps communities provide critical services. Eliminating the backfill will lead to cuts in local services– including police and fire services– or force an increase in property taxes.
The bill will also eliminate Iowa’s decades-old system of local funding and control for mental health services, and radically transition Iowa– almost overnight– to a totally new, state-run system. These types of radical changes from the Republican Party are not new. In fact, this year is the fifth anniversary of their privatization of our state Medicaid system, which has resulted in worse patient outcomes, longer waits for reimbursement and lower pay for direct care workers.
Radical changes had a negative effect on our Medicaid system, and I fear the same will happen to our mental health system, which needs to be improved, not worsened, now more than ever. After decades of neglect and underfunding, SF 619 won’t solve our mental health crisis and puts stable funding at risk.
To be fair, there are some positive aspects in this proposal that I have supported in the past, but this is not a compromise with bipartisan support. Instead, we should pass the good policy and funding contained in SF 619 without ending the backfill and raising property taxes, forcing cuts to community services or undercutting Iowa’s mental health system. This proposal is not the answer.
State Senator Zach Wahls represents Iowa Senate District 37, which includes Cedar County, portions of Johnson County, and Wilton in Muscatine County. Contact him at 515-281-3901 or [email protected].