Last week, the Iowa House considered the first budget bill of the session which marks the beginning of the end of the 2021 calendar. Representative Dustin Hite says $100 million for broadband expansion was included in the first piece of legislation, which will fund the Broadband Grant Program passed in the House earlier this year.

All major budget bills have now been made public by both the House and Senate. Hite says the Health and Human Services budget bill is next on the agenda, with the Senate proposal spending $2.085 billion in FY 2022, with $50 million committed to implement Senate File 587’s repeal of the mental health property tax levy. The Senate also includes a $10 million increase for nursing homes and $10 million to create a new mental health risk pool fund to assist counties.

On the House side, the bill would spend $2.048 billion next year. Nursing homes would receive a $20 million increase in the House bill, and Medicaid waiver service providers would receive an additional $12 million. He says the state would fulfill a commitment made in the Complex Mental Health Needs bill by providing funding for rehabilitation services.

In the Agriculture and Natural Resources budget, the House is proposing to increase funding for the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Fund from $3 million to $11 million and have it paid for out of the General Fund. The Senate maintains funding at the current $3 million level.

Within the Education budget bill, Hite says the Senate is providing the Board of Regents with an $8 million increase. The House provides status quo funding to the Regents and freezes student tuition and fees at their current levels. He says the Senate provides a $5 million increase to the Last Dollar Scholars program, while the House version funds this at the Governor’s requested level, a $10 million increase.

In the Justice Systems budget, Hite says the House bill gives the Department of Corrections an increase of $20.5 million, while the Senate is proposing only a $5.9 million raise in spending. For the Department of Public Safety, the House is proposing a $9.5 million increase; the Senate is countering with just a $4.4 million rise, and the House provides $5 million ($2.5 million from Justice Systems and $2.5 million) for a Public Safety Equipment Fund. The Senate does not include any funding for this.