Legislative Updates Archive 2006-2007

 

May 14, 2007
2007 Legislative Session Summary

The 2007 Session of the Iowa General Assembly finished its work on April 29, 2007. It was a very positive year for UNI and the other Regents institutions, as significant progress was made in repairing some of the damage caused by six straight years of budget cuts and underfunding.

 

The Regents Enterprise was appropriated additional (or new) money in FY08. Some of the highlights of this legislative session include:

 

* Fully funding the Regents' salary request.

* $25 million for Regents universities strategic operating initiatives.

* $131 million in bonding authority for the Board to carry out numerous capital projects on the campuses.

 

Below is a summary of the various appropriations and policy changes that will have a specific impact on UNI.

Education Appropriations - SF 588

 

* $25 million increase to support strategic operating initiatives for the Regents universities. This funding will be allocated by the Board of Regents.

* Language permits tuition revenue carryover by Regents Universities.

* Directs the Board of Regents to conduct a detailed study of campus security protocols with a report to be submitted to the Governor and Legislature by October 1, 2007.

 

Salary & Standings Appropriations - SF 601

* $108.5 million for all state agency salaries. (Regents portion is expected to be between $40 and $41 million.)

* Directs the Iowa Department of Education and UNI to convene a task force to study the feasibility of creating a research and development pre-kindergarten through grade twelve school for the state of Iowa.

* Directs the Board of Regents, in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Education and community colleges, to develop a system-wide credit transfer and articulation website to be operational by July 1, 2008.

Infrastructure Appropriations - HF 911

* $235,000 for UNI MyEntreNet program technology purchases.

Infrastructure Bonding Authority - HF 920

* $11.8 million for the renovation of UNI's Sabin Hall.

* $5.8 million for phase II of the UNI Electrical Distribution Project.

* $24 million for deferred maintenance and fire safety across all three universities.

* Five-year moratorium on Regents asking for state funding for new buildings.

Economic Development Appropriations - SF 562

* $300,000 appropriated to expand UNI's MyEntreNet service area.

 

Power Fund - HF 918 & HF 927

* These bills create a Power Fund Board with a Regents institution representative as an ex-officio member and another Regents institution representative as a member of a due diligence committee. Power Fund has $100 million over four years.

Supplemental Appropriations - SF 403

* $330,000 for the UNI Biomass Project (using native Iowa prairie vegetation as biomass in the production of electrical generation).

* $160,000 for the UNI Real Estate Program (moves funding for this program away for realtor license fees to the state's general fund permanently).

 

February 1, 2007

Governor Culver Proposes Increases for Regent Universities

Governor Culver unveiled his first state budget proposal to a joint session of the Iowa General Assembly on January 30. The Governor proposes increasing support for the Regents Institutions. The complete text of Governor Culver's budget address can be accessed at http://www.governor.iowa.gov/news/2007/01/attachments/30-2-budget-address.pdf

 

The Governor's fiscal year 2008 budget proposal includes a $25 million increase in general funds for the Regents universities and a commitment to include funding for the Regents in the salary bill. This recommendation is the strongest the Regent institutions have received in several years and is a reversal to the cuts and underfunding of recent years.

 

UNI's portion of the proposed $25 million is uncertain at this time. Based on historical distribution of these funds, we would receive approximately $4.6 million. In FY08, we will need to replace the $3.58 million we are receiving this year in one-time funding, and we need to allocate appropriate funding for inflationary cost increases and strategic initiatives.

 

Governor Culver's commitment to providing salary appropriations is significant to UNI and the other Regent universities. Due to the fact that for the past three years, the General Assembly had not provided any new salary funding, massive campus reallocations were necessary to cover new salary obligations. Since negotiations are still in process, salary funding needs are uncertain for FY08.

 

Culver's proposal for FY08 is better than the $11 million in new ongoing funds approved by the Iowa Legislature in the previous session. The Board of Regents has requested a total of $72.8 million in increased funding this session.

 

Culver's entire state budget recommendation totals $5.741 billion and depends in part on passage of a $1.00 per pack increase in state taxes on cigarettes that will generate $140 million in the first year of implementation. Iowa currently has the ninth-lowest tobacco tax in the nation. If the full $1 increase proposed in the cigarette tax is not approved, the funding proposal for the Regents could be affected.

 

House and Senate legislative leaders will begin now to consider the various components of the state budget. In the next ten days, legislative leaders are expected to develop specific spending figures, called budget targets, for each of the key areas of the budget. The budget process will continue through the end of the session, currently scheduled for April 28.

 

 

 

 

 

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Last Updated December 19, 2007