Iowa Legislators have spent the majority of the first two weeks of the 2018 Legislative Session focused on subcommittee work, but large-scale projects may start emerging from the chambers.

State Senator Ken Rozenboom says to expect budget decisions soon for the current fiscal year shortfall, before they jump ahead to the 2019 fiscal year.

“I look for that to be resolved quite quickly, because we really can’t work on 2019 stuff until we wrap up the 2018 budget, so I expect within the next week, for that to take shape,” he says.

The biggest portion of state funding is K-12 education, and Governor Kim Reynolds called for a 1.5% increase to state supplemental aid, the money districts use to pay teachers and staff. Rozenboom says that number may be optimistic, but schools may receive money from another bill that could pass the house set to make district transportation and SSA money equal.

Stay tuned to KNIA/KRLS for updates from the 2018 Legislative Session.