DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowans still don't know how their taxes will change as state lawmakers start their third week in overtime for the year today.
The Republican controlled House and Senate still haven't agreed on whether to reduce property taxes or when the state's inheritance tax will be ended.
There's been no indication of when the differences will be resolved.
Governor Kim Reynolds favors the more aggressive Senate plan, which she says will reduce taxes by $400 million for Iowans.
There is agreement that income tax cuts approved in 2018 will be go into effect at a faster pace than originally planned.
DETAILS:
The Senate has approved a change to move funding for mental health services to the state instead of through property taxes paid by homeowners. Doing so would reduce property taxes statewide by $100 million.
The House and Senate Democrats don't think the state is prepared to operate the mental health system.
The House has also not signed on to a Senate plan to phase out the property tax backfill, which is an arrangement to pay local governments for property tax cuts enacted in 2013. Public schools would still be funded at the same level under the Senate plan.
House and Senate Republicans also don't agree on a timeline to sunset the state's inheritance tax. The Senate wants to eliminate it in four years while the House favors a longer eight-year phase out.
Both the Senate and House have found agreement to speed up income tax cuts passed in 2018.The current law calls for the state to reach certain levels of revenue collection before tax cuts go into effect. Under the new agreement, the cuts would be enacted in 2023.
Another point of agreement is parity for in-person and electronic delivery of mental health services. Insurance companies would be required to reimburse mental health providers at the same rate for in-person and telehealth visits.
The current overtime session nowhere near a record for the Iowa legislature.
The state's longest regular legislative session was in 1978, when the legislature met from January 9th to July 15th, a total of 188 days. The longest special legislative session began on December 4, 1923 and ended on July 30, 1924. Including a recess from April 22 to July 22, the session lasted a total of 239 days.