Iowa lawmakers are working to finish up bills and to piece together the 2021 fiscal year budget in rapid fashion in Des Moines. State Representative Dustin Hite says the Iowa House Republicans have largely proposed a “status quo” budget, including approximately $7.85 billion in spending that would keep funding levels from the previous year for most departments and maintain the approximately 2 percent increase to state supplemental aid for schools. Hite says additional federal dollars will allow the state to avoid tapping into reserve funds, which may be necessary if revenue projections decline further in the coming months. The state faced $500 million in estimated shortfalls for the current and upcoming fiscal years combined, but the state was running at a large surplus coming into the session. Hear more from Hite about the 2020 Legislative Session on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.