Government reorganization bill signed
By MIKE GLOVER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSDES MOINES - Gov. Chet Culver on Wednesday signed into law a sweeping restructuring of state government designed to squeeze $127 million in spending from next year's budget and help close an expected shortfall.
When coupled with an early retirement incentive program for state workers that has been approved and cuts the governor made that didn't require legislative approval, $270 million has been trimmed from the $5.3 billion fiscal year budget that begins July 1, Culver said.
''As a candidate for governor in 2006, I promised the voters of Iowa that if elected I would save $250 million in taxpayer money through efficiencies and reform efforts,'' he said. ''Today we are delivering on that promise.''
The measure Culver signed was the result of more than a year of study and came as an economic slowdown has caused tax revenue to plummet.
The package merges some smaller state agencies, streamlines larger ones and eliminates 13 boards and commissions that rarely met. It also establishes centralized computer systems and purchasing programs.
And the package cuts into the number of middle managers, a move that will force supervisors to oversee more workers.
After arguing about the restructuring for months, lawmakers in both the House and Senate overwhelmly approved the final version.
''It was nearly a unanimous vote, a bipartisan vote, so the Iowa taxpayer won,'' said Culver. ''We're doing something that is not happening a whole lot around the country. We're working in a bipartisan way to get the people's work done.''
Democrats control both chambers of the Legislature by lopsided margins, and most Republicans backed the restructuring even as they argued it didn't go far enough to reduce state government.
After Culver ordered across-the-board cuts late last year, lawmakers began this session in January with a budget shortfall projected at $341 million and pledges by both parties not to raise taxes. The $270 million they've squeezed out of state spending covers most of that gap, and the remainder will come from dipping into cash reserves.
The final budget details won't be known until Thursday, when a three-person panel of budget experts issues its final projection of state revenue expected in the next fiscal year. Lawmakers must use that projection to write the budget.
They hope to complete that task and adjourn by the end of the month.
Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, said the restructuring plan was the largest in Iowa history.
''The goal was to create more accountability for taxpayer dollars,'' she said.
Although budget problems drove the effort, many of the changes made sense simply because of improved technology, said Sen. Staci Appel, D-Ackworth.
''Modernizing how we use technology is common sense,'' Appel said. ''We will see 2010 as a year of real reform in Iowa.''
Much of the measure was based on the report of a consultant hired by Culver, and debate about some recommendations not included in the bill will likely continue. Those aspects include moving state workers to a four-day, 10-hours-a-day work week and establishing new wellness programs for them.
There's a political component to the effort as well.
Culver's approval ratings - like those of governors around the country - have sagged as he struggled with the state's budget troubles. He is up for re-election, and three Republicans are vying to challenge him in November. They routinely accuse him of bungling the state's budget.
Culver argues that voters will reward him for making tough decisions to cut back government and close the budget shortfall without raising taxes.
