Republicans are going to try to quickly change Iowa law to make a lawsuit against GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds moot.
Democratic Rep. Chis Hall filed a lawsuit this week, charging Reynolds violated state law when she transferred money from the state's reserves to cover a shortfall. State law requires that after a certain date, only the legislature can make any transfer via an appropriation.
House Speaker Linda Upmeyer told reporters today that she agrees that the date needs to be changed, and she says she's willing to quickly pass a bill that will change it for the future. Plus they plan to pass legislation that will formalize the transfers and budget cuts that are needed to balance the budget.
House Democratic Leader Mark Smith says the budget "isn't balanced" and says the first priority needs to be to fix that.
Republicans, according to Upmeyer, will make their first priority ensuring that Iowans don't pay more in state taxes as a result of the tax bill that Congress passed, which eliminated the ability of taxpayers to deduct their state taxes on their federal returns.
The legislature will have some tense budget sessions-and little new money to spend. Lawmakers have committed to finding a way to pay back their reserves the money that's been taken to balance the budget.