Des Moines, Iowa — Early Monday morning, an Iowa House committee approved a bill containing a series of tax changes, but Republican Representative Gary Mohr acknowledges it may not include all the tax changes senate Republicans want.
Senate Republicans voted in early April to use state tax dollars, rather than local property taxes, to finance the state’s mental health system. House Republicans have so far resisted and the proposal is not included in the tax bill that cleared the House Appropriations Committee Monday. House Speaker Pat Grassley says there are technical questions to figure out before the state takes over another social program. At mid-morning Monday, members of the legislature retreated into private meetings to discuss tax and spending issues. As is the custom, though, legislators began their day with public prayers on the House and Senate floor. Representative Steven Bradley, a Republican from Cascade, prayed in the House.
The prayer in the Senate from Republican Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa was less specific.
Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Iowa House and Senate and decide what gets debated and passed in the legislature. Democrats say they support many of the concepts Republicans are discussing when it comes to spending and tax decisions, but they’re being excluded from negotiations.
