Last week marked the second “funnel” deadline in the Iowa Legislature. All bills needed to pass committee in both houses to stay alive. Check the bill watch for the latest list of bills that remain officially in play. With that, the budget conversations have begun in earnest. On Wednesday, the House released its education budget bill (which can be found here). This bill includes a $6 million increase for Community College State General Aid – very close to our ask of $6.4 million. There is also a $10 million increase for Last Dollar Scholarship funds. This week there was also action in the Senate on SF587 which would impact Community College property tax “backfill” payments from the state and HF744, which creates new requirements for free speech policies and training. Both still must go back to the House before finalized. Finally, last week the Biden administration released their American Jobs Plan, which calls for $12 billion for Community College infrastructure and $100 billion for workforce initiative. We are working with federal partners to monitor this proposal as it moves forward.
Community Colleges for Iowa