Des Moines, Iowa — Iowa Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says a bill that’s ready for debate in the full Senate is designed to avoid a state government shutdown.
The 12-month state budgeting year starts July 1st. The bill says if lawmakers haven’t presented a new budget plan to the governor by July 1st, the previous year’s spending levels will be used until a budget agreement is reached.
Klimesh says the bill is not a hint at what might happen if Democrat Rob Sand is elected governor and Republicans control the House and Senate.
In 2011, the Iowa Legislature approved the final elements of a state spending plan on June 30th, eight hours before the July 1st deadline. It was the year Republican Governor Terry Brantad returned to office alongside Republicans who controlled the debate agenda in the House, while Democrats were in the majority in the Senate. The State of Illinois holds the record for the longest government shutdown — a three-year standoff between the Republican governor of Illinois and Democrats who held a majority of seats in the Illinois legislature.
KIWA Staff Photo
