Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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The sometimes-strained relationship between Gov. Chet Culver and Democratic lawmakers is nothing new, but it may be getting worse. Today legislative leaders said the governor’s refusal to work with them has brought the legislative session to a grinding halt.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, left, and Gov. Chet Culver shake hands. (File photo.)
“[The governor's office is] just not negotiating with us right now,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, said. “We can’t move forward until we start to get an agreement on these bills, so we encourage them to come to the table and negotiate. We’re ready, willing and able on our part to engage in good faith negotiation.”
The Des Moines Register is reporting that the rift is driven by Culver’s $750 million bonding plan to pay for flood recovery and infrastructure projects. Lawmakers have already cut that amount down to $700 million, leaving out money proposed to pay for road and bridge repairs. They’ve also questioned Culver’s intention to use future gambling proceeds to repay the bonds, believing they can get a better interest rate on bonds if they repay them with general fund dollars.
A Culver spokesman declined to comment for The Register and did not respond to a request from the Iowa Independent.
The standoff, which has apparently been going on for several days, follows comments from House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, last week that Culver’s changes to a proposed Democratic tax plan caused at least two Democrats to switch from “yes” to “no” on the bill, saying the bill would have otherwise been passed weeks ago.
Culver fired back in an interview with Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV, saying his changes actually improved the bill by increasing the number of Iowans who will see their taxes cut.
“I think we’ve probably picked up some votes and maybe even a few Republican votes,” Culver said.
Last year’s legislative session was largely defined by differences between the governor and legislative leaders, culminating with Culver vetoing a bill expanding collective bargaining rights for public sector employees.
Legislators had hoped they could adjourn this week. Many pieces of legislation, including changes to the state’s sex offender laws; the Democratic tax reform bill; and the governor’s bonding plan remain unresolved.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, told The Register that differences of opinion at this point in the session are not uncommon, but that “This is not the time to be issuing ultimatums.”
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