Hamerlinck’s Observations Week 14

Iowans often dread this week every year because it brings about the deadline for the filing of federal income taxes. Yet, this year thousands of Iowans from communities all over the state decided to commemorate this annual occurrence by hosting tea parties to protest the unbridled spending that has occurred both at the federal level, but especially here in Iowa where the governor and his legislative counterparts have unsustainably increased grown government’s budget during the last two years while continually looking for new ways to raise taxes on Iowa’s families and employers. We were proud to make an appearance at the tea party held at the Iowa Capitol this week where well over 3000 Iowans gathered to send a message to the governor and his party allies in the Legislature to stop the overspending and to dump the plans to enact additional burdensome new tax increases.

While this time of year means tax season for Iowa taxpayers, it also means the nearing of the end of the legislative session and that means lawmakers are busy crafting the next year’s state budget. The governor and the current majority party in the Legislature have spent the state into serious deficits during the last two years and as a result, they have been forced to significantly scale back their earlier budgetary plans. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Governor Culver admitted that his party’s inability to budget with restraint has led to a prolonged session saying, “I think if we had our t’s crossed and i’s dotted we’d be adjourned by now.” When the Legislature finally does adjourn, the current budget being crafted will still be among the largest in state history thus reinforcing the fact that Iowa is facing a spending problem – not a revenue problem.

In an attempt to increase movie production in the state, the Legislature passed a bill this week to give production companies, producers and lead actors tax credits. This was pushed in the Senate as a measure to spark investment in Iowa by attracting Hollywood dollars. Thirty-two other states currently offer similar programs to the entertainment industry. Earlier the same day we ran an amendment to replace the $250 teachers tax credit and it failed down party lines. With this credit, the money teachers in Iowa use to buy supplies for their classrooms can be deducted from their income taxes. During floor debate, supporters of eliminating the teachers tax credit stated we are in tough economic times and cuts must be made wherever we can find them. Even if solely out of principle, how can we give the richest Hollywood actors tax breaks when we can’t step up to support our teaching population?

Every year the federal tax code changes and traditionally the state legislature in Iowa adopts those changes into our tax code. This is referred to as “coupling” as we are coupling the state tax code with the federal tax code. For some reason the coupling bill this years has been forgotten and this lack of action will result in a $54 million tax increase for Iowans. We ran an amendment on Wednesday to request the coupling bill be taking up before the end of this legislative session and our action was ruled non-germane or not relevant to the bill at hand.

The first bill I filed in my freshman session was Senate File 102 which required the state to develop an online searchable database which would allow taxpayers the ability to see where their tax dollars are being spent. A similar form of this legislation passed in the House 97-2 and the Senate has refused to take up the measure. On Thursday I ran this bill in the form of an amendment on the Administration and Regulations Appropriations bill. During floor debate, the floor manager of the bill stated this amendment cannot be supported at this time because we are unsure of its cost and a concern that it would challenge state staff at a time when they are overworked. At this point, I am not shy to say, the debate gloves came off. President Obama requires any state which accepts stimulus funds to create a similar type of transparency website and we have copies of the Governors proclamation to the state implementing the transparency program. Apparently, transparency only matters when politicians believe they can get free money from the federal government for doing so. The hypocritical nature of watching state politicians say we need to be accountable with federal dollars while stating out the other sides of their mouths the state legislature shouldn’t be held to the same standard. My amendment failed down party lines during final passage. No politician should ever fear a transparent government.

The ideology which limited the transparency bill invokes the same thought processes which limits the open records legislation in the House. This bill would require city councils, school boards, county supervisors and state legislators to offer greater access to the information which is exchanged between elected officials during the decision making process. With advancements in technology, many times agreements are made via email before a bill even comes to the floor for debate. This is your government and you should always have the right to know.

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to work at the Capitol and represent you as the State Senator from the 42nd District. As a taxpayer, you are my boss.