Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says a bill that’s ready for debate in the full senate is designed to avoid a state government shutdown. “That bill came from actually us watching Washington, you know, at the congressional level. We had the longest government shutdown we’ve ever seen in history and we don’t want that to occur in Iowa,” Klimesh said. “…Even if we have disagreements or conversations up here, we don’t want to put Iowans at risk or jeopardy for services not being funded.”
The 12-month state budgeting year starts July 1st. The bill says if lawmakers haven’t presented a new budget plan to the governor by July 1st, the previous year’s spending levels will be used until a budget agreement is reached.
