2015 legislative wrap-up.
After nearly six months of wrangling, the members of the Iowa House and Senate put the finishing touches on a more than $7 billion state budget plan and concluded the 2015 legislative session this afternoon, shortly before four o’clock.
In the end, legislators settled on a 1.25 percent increase in general state aid to schools, plus a one-time spending boost of $55 million on top of that. Gov. Terry Branstad now has 30 days to review the legislature’s budget proposals—and he has the authority to use his “item veto” power to erase parts of the bills lawmakers passed. One potential item veto could scuttle the bipartisan proposal to keep the Mental Health Institutes in Mount Pleasant and Clarinda open past July 1st. Branstad has started closing the facilities.
The 2015 Iowa legislative session ended June 5, a little over one month longer than originally scheduled (May 1), but earlier than June 30 date that some had projected.
Here is a look at some stats for the 2015 session:
- 144 calendar days in which legislature was convened (January 12 – June 5).
- 1,832 bills introduced.
- 98 of those bills, to date, have passed the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate and have been signed into law by Branstad. An up-to-date list of all bills signed into law by Branstad can be found here.
- 30 days. The governor has 30 days to sign a bill passed by the legislature or it is effectively vetoed. Considering that a number of bills were sent to Branstad in the past 30 days, many will wait until July 5 to learn the fate of all bills.
- Jan. 11, 2016: The date the legislature will reconvene unless a special session is convened.
- Of the 1,832 bills introduced, the Iowa House and Iowa Senate Judiciary Committees saw the most.
Sincerely,
Kristin Failor
NFIB Iowa state director
