On Tuesday, August 10, a new analysis was released by the USA TODAY. The analysis found that at a time when private sector workers’ pay and benefits have stagnated, the average compensation of federal government employees has grown to double what private sector workers earn.
According to the analysis, federal workers have been awarded bigger average pay and benefit increases than private employees for nine years in a row which has resulted in a doubling of the compensation gap.
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Two years ago, Governor Culver implemented a policy that allowed state agencies to charge up to $40 per hour to examine government records that were the subject of an open records request by media or the public. This policy has been supported by Attorney General Miller.
These fees cover only the consideration of whether a particular document must legally be disclosed. Those requesting the documents could still incur charges for photocopying or retrieval of records. In addition to appropriateness of high fees, Culver and Miller continue to take the stance that documents considered to be “drafts” or “works in progress” (sometimes including emails) can be withheld.
Recent examples of roadblocks for information seekers include Culver’s emails about a death at a state hospital, records about the film tax credit scandal, and evidence of the state’s role in the Atalissa situation.
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A post-session report released by Legislature Services Agency shows that despite Democrats claiming they reduced the size of state government, they substantially increased the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions over the past two years.
According to the LSA report, the Legislature increased the number of authorized FTE positions from an actual 52,273 in FY 2009 to an estimated 52,907 in FY 2010. That is an increase of 633.84 positions. This occurred despite the Governor’s 10 percent across the board budget reduction.
That the number of FTE positions increased by over 600 after the 10 percent ATB cut shows one just how much Democrats increased the size of the budget prior to the cut.
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Numbers represent casinos in Iowa. Star represents the new location.
Only one of four proposed casino projects was given approval at a May 13th meeting of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Lyon County’s proposal was unanimously approved, while proposals from Fort Dodge, Ottumwa, and Tama County were unanimously rejected. The entire evaluation process took approximately six months. It is unlikely that the commission will consider issuing any more licenses for at least three to five years.
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As the House adjourned the 2nd session of the 83rd General Assembly, the House Republican Research Staff put together an end of session wrap-up of notable bills in all committees.
2010 End of Session Wrap-up
Agriculture, Budget, Commerce, Economic Growth, Education, Environmental Protection, Floor Action, Human Resources, Judiciary, Labor, Local Government, Natural Resources, Public Safety, Rebuild Iowa, State Government, Taxes, Transportation, Veterans Affairs | admin | March 31, 2010 | 
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Senate File 2088 “Government Reorganization” was passed 98-0 by the House this past Monday after countless amendments and two days of debate. The bill passed by the House is significantly different than the one passed by the Senate; making their reconciliation complicated. The version passed by the House is estimated to save $70.6 million to the state’s general fund and $55.7 million to other funds in Fiscal Year 2011.
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| Rep. Chambers |
Republican Representatives Royd Chambers (R-Sheldon), Annette Sweeney (R-Alden), Jeff Kaufmann (R-Wilton) and Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) crafted legislation aimed at reforming the Board of Regents and their policies as an attempt to find more budget efficiencies and savings for the state.
“House Republicans took a serious look at ways to save Iowans money and help protect one of Iowa’s most vulnerable groups, it’s students,” said Rep. Royd Chambers. “We think this plan is a step in the right direction.”
Continue reading for the details…
From Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen:
Last week in the House, the State Government committee worked on the reorganization bill (SF 2088). The bill in its current form saves a little over $70 million.
In order for the Governor’s budget to balance, he needs a minimum $391 million in “general fund” spending reductions. About $30 million of that is expected to come through early retirements. Another $90 million will be achieved through the Governor’s savings that he achieved internally for a total $120 million in savings.
This leaves $271 million that needs to be saved through additional legislative decisions.
Continue reading for Republican’s $290 million in savings ideas…
A bill suggested by House Majority Leader McCarthy would allow Iowa’s 17 state-regulated casinos to add popular card games like poker and blackjack in ballrooms and convention rooms where gambling is currently not allowed. Some of these casinos already have “poker rooms,” but they are too small to hold large poker tournaments. “This is not new gaming; this is existing gaming,” McCarthy said in The Des Moines Register. McCarthy went on to say that this expansion would increase tax revenue for the state.
Continue reading about more gambling changes in the works…
On Thursday, December 10, the State Government Reorganization Interim Committee voted unanimously to approve several proposals to reduce state government spending.
Here is the list of proposed recommendations to the Legislature. The list is broken down into four primary areas – E-government, consolidated purchasing, government efficiencies, and span of control.
Click to view the highlights of each area…
