Iowa Press; 1515; Don Avenson

I would pressure number 15 15. Major funding for this program was provided by friends of Iowa Public Television. So let me outline for you a program. That uses our strengths. That addresses the trends. The governor has made his priorities. No one in. The General Assembly too is adjusting its legislative sights. Just whose agenda will prevail. Is that one of the topics we'll be discussing tonight. On Iowa.

Chris. This. Is the Sunday January 17th edition of Iowa Prouse. Here is Dean border. Good evening. Generally Governor Terry Branstad is getting high marks for his condition at the State addresses this past Tuesday. The governor delivered what some state House veterans say is one of the best of his five conditions the State addresses at least in delivery. In his message the governor identified his 1988 legislative priorities education marketing and promoting the state and economic development and in particular highways and transportation. He was up tempo and upbeat in his analysis of the state's fortunes in the late 1980s asserting that the important indicators are showing the state has turned the corner now and that the challenge facing all of us is to take advantage of the trends that the governor says are now running in Iowa's favor. And he called for harmony to Between the States Executive and Legislative branches. An obvious

reflection on the ill will and infighting that marked the last Spring is rough and tumble legislative sessions and two special sessions. Since then despite those good grades the governor has other report cards to worry about that one will be issued tomorrow night following his annual budget address to the legislature which incidentally will bring you live on Iowa Public Television and that'll be at 6:30 tomorrow night. Meanwhile the second session of Iowa seventy second General Assembly which is expected to run through mid-April is now one week old. And like Governor Branstad the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate are letting their priorities be known too. No doubt the legislature will focus on how state dollars are generated and how they're spent. The lawmakers have other items on their agenda too. And one who will play a major role in crafting that agenda and seeing that it's passed is House Speaker Don Evanson a Democrat from Oelwein. Representative Davidson now in his 16th year in the Iowa legislature sixth year as speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives making him one of the most powerful voices in the legislature and

incidentally a person also mentioned as a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in the future. Joining us in our conversation with Representative Evanson speaker of the Iowa House Dave Ebsen political reporter of The Des Moines Register. And Judy Douban entire legislative reporter with the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Mr. Speaker we heard last week from Governor Terry Branstad that the misty gloom of recession has begun to clear from the economic horizon of Iowa. If you had been giving the condition of the state message what would you have said about the way Iowa is today. I think our immediate assessments of the situation or similar we felt turned a corner turning taking place over the last two years. People are feeling better. Farm incomes are up. There's more activity in our retail areas are sales taxes are starting to move again. Personal income taxes are up. Those are all good indicators. I think that that Iowa has stopped sinking and that we're moving in the right direction.

What is your view of Iowa's future. Well I think the the question that needed to be raised and needs to continue to be raised is that although we have turned the corner we're moving in the right direction and there are many fundamental structural inadequacies in state government and local governments around. All right now we need to diversify our economy. We all know we have to move away from a totally agriculturally oriented state into a state with a sustainable agriculture diversified and in an economy that gets beyond the farm sector. We need to bring our governmental systems programs and formulas in line with the 90s and the 21st century rather than the 50s and the Eisenhower era. So we've come half way. We have another half of the way to go in order to be in shape to face the next century. How can you be at all optimistic about the future of Iowa when so much of this. Rosy scenario you seem to be painting is certainly the result of federal farm

subsidies Well they have retail sales income tax receipts sales tax receipts. Mr. Speaker a lot of people make the case that all that is is just the big federal government does but a lot of dough in this state and that's not going to last. We recognize that we're on thin ice. We recognize that 50 percent of our farm income is now a federally funded income money that comes from Washington. We recognize that a lot of the spending that comes from that farm income could go away if we see a change in the federal farm program or even a 5 percent reduction in federal farm programs that have a significant effect on their state. So we hope that we can maintain that stability at the federal level for a few more years where we make the changes that need to be made. Now I'm not foolish enough to believe that this is all brought about by the state legislature or the governor's programs. You're right it's largely an artificial good times driven by Washington.

One of these outdated formulas that you have discussed on occasion is the gas tax formula for distributing revenue that the state raises for motor fuel taxes to cities counties and state government for building highways and roads. The governor has proposed four cent increase. Would you see that this year as an opportunity to start changing one of those outdated. Well we already have. Judy you know two years ago we passed the rice formula which was the first significant deviation from the old road formula that's ever happened here in Iowa since we tried to bring ourselves out of the mud. So the rise program was the first step and the direction of recognizing that Iowa has gone through fundamental changes. We've done other things in our formulas such as the teacher salary bill last year changed the school formula significant and significantly put money into a specific place that we went to accomplish some specific goals with rather than into the end of the formula where only 45 percent of the dollars actually reach reach the classroom 100 percent of those dollars reach the classroom where the real teaching the real

development takes place. So we have recognized the faults in those formulas and we have done some significant change in those formulas. The problem is that I think we've been through the political equivalent of a first half or or close to a first half of a of a run and gun fast breaking full court press pressing basketball game. We've worked very hard. We've taken on many many of the issues that needed to be taken and we've cleared an awful lot of underbrush our kind of needs arrest right now the legislature kind of needs arrest where we have a significant significant set of accomplishments ahead of us where we have to finish the first half but we need some time to reflect upon where we've been and where we need to go during the next. But it just needs a rest. Mr. Speaker there are a lot of problems in Iowa. How can you make a statement that the legislature needs a rest. I don't given the condition of Iowa's economy and roads and schools and so forth. Well I don't I don't mean that the legislature needs rest. I think the state needs some period of

stability of the state needs some time to reflect upon where we've gone what we've done and where we need to go for for the second half of the game. I think we all recognize that the politicians both in the executive branch and the legislative branch know that you cannot sustain the level. Of major reform and change that's taken place over the last half decade. We've taken on outdated formulas we've taken an unbalanced unemployment fund we raised the sales tax we reorganized state government we recognize that the judicial branch we've done year after year after year of major accomplishments in our environment water quality parimutuel a lottery the I'll plan the tax reform you go on and on and I think there's a resting that needs to take place for instance in the area of tax reform we need to see what that tax reform bill actually did for us last year and whether we need that would seem to say then that we're not going to see that Iowa transportation in 2000 and the 4 percent to 4 cent a gallon gas tax over the next two years be

enacted because you've already said that that's good it takes a major political compromising and you're not ready to take that on this session apparently. I think that that our 2000 is likely to pass this year because the the groundwork to get those changes hasn't taken place. It was Republican legislators who said D.O.A. on the first announcement of our 0 dead on arrival. Right. The governor like in the tax reform package did not do the groundwork with his own members with his own party that needed to be done. We move forward with rice I think we can move forward a few more steps with with some changes in our formula that reflects for instance the loss of federal funds. But I don't think that our 2000 is going to take place in the near future. OK you won't do anything on the gas tax. What about education. What can we expect to see on education reform. Will you be about the business of reorganizing schools. You have said that

too many local schools out there a lot of superintendents have nothing to do but go to Rotary Club meetings will this session of the legislature do something about smaller schools. Well I think the the legislature has been doing a great deal over the last five years. We passed some major changes in our standards in the curriculums that the state requires. As I said before we increased salaries for teachers targeted 92 million dollars directly into that into the classroom. The significant statistic again that Iowans are going to have to look forward to and look at and carefully analyze the 1.7 billion dollars we spent in schools only 45 percent of it gets in the classroom. Right now I don't believe the people of the state are willing to look at mandatory reorganization. I don't think that's very important to have mandatory reorganization. I think what we need is is the best quality education possible regardless of where you live. So the legislature needs to keep pressing on standards of curriculum on excellence in the

teaching of our education. We need to keep pressing on efficiencies to the extent that it's politically possible. Specifically I believe that reapportionment will bring about a situation where you see I will move more rapidly more toward an efficient delivery of education. But that's not going to happen until 1990 until 1991 for the legislature of 1993 93 election of 92 and the legislature of 96. So you totally have to I always have to wait that long before you do something about highways. I have been trying to persuade my rural constituency and I represent a very rural district that we should take on those issues right now where we have the leverage to deal with with urban legislators and urban folks. I think it would be in their interest to go into a review of the road formula to go into a review of the tax structures to go into a review of our educational services. Right now while they still have the leverage Well they still have the ability to bargain in effect with that mass group of people who

are moving to the cities and suburban areas. The next reapportionment will see a major change in the way I was represented. If we follow the constitutional guidelines that have been outlined. One person one vote will mean that we will lose many many legislators from rural Iowa and suburban and urban our pick them up. I think it's in the interests of rural Iowa to negotiate those things right now. I believe that we ought to be taking out school reorganization and the future of education right now. I think we have to look at the road formula right now. Unfortunately I don't believe that the people of rural Iowa are yet ready for that. So but conversely if you're telling a rural constituency you to settle a deal now because in 92 things could get worse. Maybe if you let maybe for an island who lives in the suburbs or in urban Iowa you'd be content to just put this on hold and deal with these problems when we don't have the. I don't think we are we ought to be contended all. When I say that we need halftime I'm saying when you run a 48 minute game you can't run and gun and full

court press during all 40 minutes Coach or coach Davis both know you need a 10 minute break in the middle where you assess what you've done the first half you analyze where you need to go in the second half. That's where we are right now. I think the next big agenda for Iowa is how we fund our infrastructure how we fund our educational system what do we expect of both our infrastructure and our educational system. Do we need to have the fourth largest number of roads in the state or can we downgrade some of the maintenance and development of those roads. I think after again a half a decade of major accomplishments of turmoil and struggle that went with those accomplishments. We need a little breather in order to plan a strategy that breather may come into the next gubernatorial election. I think that's the only time you can really focus the attention on the people of state on the issues that are ahead of them. Our legislature has real trouble leading for a sustained amount of time. And by and large for five years the legislature has set the agenda for this state. I think we need some time to reflect and I think you

need a focus for those decisions. It may come before reapportionment. It may come in 1991 against specifically. And if this is going to be a breather are you going to say that you said at the same time you want to see more effective education money better spent more bang for the buck. Specifically in this session are you going to do anything on performance based teacher pay anything to put some more teeth in that or even to take a breather on that. What about the long kindergarden is that going to go. What about the other alternative kids regarding it. I think from what I heard the governor say and what I'm hearing members of the general assembly say that we want to hang on to all those standard increases that we possibly can. The governor backed off a ways when he said we need some pilots in pre-June or kindergarten programs rural Iowa needs to understand that pre-kindergarten will be the most important reform that they can possibly take on poverty now is a real problem in Iowa. Clayton County has 28 percent poverty. Polk County has

18 percent poverty. We have proven study after study has proven that pre-kindergarten headstart type programs help those people particularly those people below poverty level income so kids that have the socialization in the beginning that takes place in pre-kindergarten programs statistically are much less likely to become involved in teenage pregnancies teenage drug abuse the penal system later on. The reason I said it was because many say too it's a glorified babysitting service. No I don't believe so. Middle income yuppie Iowa has already decided that pre-kindergarten programs are important for them. What we have not done is gotten to lower income hours that need to help them. Mr. Speaker you mentioned lower income violence and poverty. One of the first in fact the first bill to come out of being considered by the Appropriations Committee in the House this week was a bill to increase welfare benefits. Part of

that thirty five million dollars that was vetoed by the governor last year that seemed to bring some disharmony into the start of a session that was supposed to be harmonious and everybody get along. Did you. Did you throw away a lot of good feeling in order to get a little. Judy I think it's a good question. But if people think of the idea of cooperation is that Republicans in the government have their way 100 percent of the time they're wrong. It's a 50/50 proposition. Things that are on the governor's agenda have to be carefully considered by Democrats the majority the legislature and vice versa the minority party and the Governor who are Republicans need to consider the priorities of the Democratic majority. We think we think that attacking poverty in Iowa is one of the most important things we can do in the future. You can't expect a productive workforce and an efficient educational system in rural Iowa where a lot of those educational systems are have become impoverished because of Reagan administration changes because of the things that have happened to our farm sector.

Again poverty is a rural problem in Iowa now. It's no longer just an urban problem. We have to attack it all over again. And I think one of the parts of reforming welfare is to help them live better with some welfare benefit increases. You can't have just say the farm sector getting the benefits of federal programs and in effect the uplifting coming from those federal dollars. Everybody has to be uplifted at the same time including those people who are below poverty level. You mentioned welfare reform besides increasing benefits for ATC recipients. What other sorts of measures might lawmakers be looking at. Well welfare welfare in Iowa I believe has a lot of say 100 people 70 of those 100 people will be on and off of welfare within two years. About 30 of 100 are structurally welfare recipients. We have to attack both things we have to help those people who are displaced homemakers for

instance move more quickly from welfare rolls where they don't want to be where they have the will to work given the skills to work. We have to help them with child care with health care benefits with education with job training. We have to let them move more rapidly off of the welfare rolls into the private sector. We also have to recruit industry that fits those roles and that's why for instance we are agreeing with the governors or thinking of agreeing with the governor's initiatives on insurance on the insurance industry. Secondly you have to look at that structural welfare role or group some of them need help with parenting. Some of them need certainly need pre-kindergarten education for their kids. There are other skills it's a much more intensive kind of effort that it takes with those 30 percent who are struggling Wolf. What about tax increases. Mr. Speaker the. Projections are you have a budget deficit of some kind depending upon whose numbers you believe. Will this legislature raise taxes. I don't believe that you will see any major tax increases but I believe before it's done the

budget will be balanced by a combination of small revenue increases actual cuts in the budget and accounting changes that. Let us slip by another year of problems. Earlier you said that there were major changes that need to be made. Maybe you're halfway there in making some state mandated changes in the code of Iowa which will help diversify the economy. And I assume part of that is rural development and the funds that you will channel into rural Iowa. You raised some eyebrows and some tempers last Thursday when you made a speech in Des Moines to the Rotary Club in which you warned people there that they were not going to be Exley shouldn't be expecting from this legislature development funds into what you called the Golden Circle and they do too. No that's not what I said I said I think we need to make the golden circle into a golden state. Yes the Moyen in the area around Des Moines Cedar Rapids and the area around Cedar Rapids have to reach out to rest the rest of the state.

You can't just ignore Sioux City you can't ignore Dubuque and Waterloo and Fort Dodge and crested and Osceola. But in Council Bluffs you have to reach out and make this a golden state. So the city of Des Moines the area around to point out to be commended for the concept of the Golden Circle but the concept of the Golden Circle is now. Kind of. Has used up its time we need to reach out. We need to make make this a golden state where everybody shares and the growth in the development takes place. Let me give you an example. Dave if Ron Lou had one major insurance industry site in Waterloo you'd solve an awful lot of its problems an awful lot of us problems because there's an unemployment level there that could be. That would provide not only a workforce but a ready workforce for that industry. At the same time they would bring about some of the stability they don't want to address what has happened. To the state's psychology. Mr. Speaker where everyone seems to be saying I've got mine. Go get yours. You can make it bashing for example has always been popular in this state it's really been exacerbated by that by the hard times. But here you have

we've just talked tonight about you're saying people in Des Moines have to reach out at the same time you just said earlier rural Iowa doesn't want to share. Change the formulas so you create a situation where people in Des Moines say why should we help rural Iowa when they're not willing to deal on on our road dollars. I don't want to. It all goes to the core question of Iowans not thinking as Iowans anymore but as people much closer to home how do we change that psychology. Well as I said before I think there's so much just so much the legislature can accomplish. We set the agenda for five years we've been running again for five years I think only gubernatorial election or reapportionment some kind of major change in the way we think can bring about the awareness that needs to grow all around about all of our problems. Rural Iowa needs Polk County and urban now and vice versa. Eventually it'll catch up to Polk County if we don't share and

that development that growth of the state. Again I want to make clear I am not critical of the Golden Circle. It was a good idea and this time we now need a gold state that reaches out all over. But isn't this whole concept of our really outmoded. I mean the geographical boundaries of Iowa were set in the 1840s and there really aren't too relevant today are they to the problems of the year 2000. You know get me into some kind of regional government debate here David. Judy I think there are many outmoded concepts I think for instance that it's we probably don't need 99 counties anymore but it's not worth fighting that fight. It is absolutely not worth taking on 99 counties and saying we only need 89 or 79. I think instead we should work with the structures that are there and change the way they do business. For instance we should require that there be a sharing of capital cost that maybe a sharing of law enforcement costs. We can we can bring about change without taking on unnecessary fights.

You talk about these major structural changes that island needs meet needs to make is it wise politically to be even talking about them. Why not. I don't I don't hear many others talking about them but I do notice when I'm in front of Rotary's whether it's in online or Waverly or Des Moines that there's more affirmed of head nodding than negative. Most people realize that we haven't taken on those things so I think politicians are underestimated. And so I think Iowans by and large are usually ahead of us. They know what has to be done. As usual they don't want to move away from the past but they know we have to. Are you running for governor. I'm I'm looking at the possibility of running for governor. I've been speaker now longer than any other person in the history of Iowa. I recognize the limitations of of a legislative body although we have set the agenda for five years. There's just so much you can do there. I recognize also that the governor has the ability to focus and move

the state forward like nobody else in this state has got to go back to Judy's question if you're even looking at running for governor are doing it in a rather unconventional way by going out there and poking in the eyes every interest group you talk to. Well I don't. For instance I didn't mind being targeted by the chemical industry I think I'm on the side of the people. I think if it comes to a choice between chemicals and pure water I know who's going to win. I know where the people are. Ninety five percent of people vyle want to do what we did with the water quality measure. So I think we underestimate the people of the state. I think the people of the state usually lead us rather than us leading them. And you need to bring about a focusing of where they are and it'll usually be good for you were specific in talking this past Thursday about making Iowa a golden circle and telling Des Moines in Polk County what not to expect in this legislative session. What is that. What are you going to do. Well yes I think the key issues this year will be the budget that will dominate most of what we do because we do have 150 million our deficit and many of the

solutions we're looking at depend upon some additional funding. Number two welfare reform is something that we all agree needs to take place. Now there are different definitions of welfare reform obviously between the governor and between Republicans and Democrats between recipients and deliverers of that welfare but welfare reform isn't working for either the recipients or for the state. We've got we've got to take it out. Rural economic redevelopment I think is the key issue. We've seen Iowa basically depopulated by this Reagan administration and its policies. Much of Iowa looks like western Nebraska now. We've lost 63000 people most of them have left from rural Iowa. We need to give those people a breath of fresh air. We need to give them a chance to handle their problems with input infrastructure we need to give them a chance to develop their ideas and their businesses. Those are the two gaps we're going to look at infrastructure and capital formation for small businesses entrepreneurs and Rhode Island. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Be our guest tonight on LIVE will press. Another busy week

ahead of us here at a public television and we hope that you'll be joining us for several telecast. We think that you'll find of interest and important to note here the are. Tomorrow night Governor Branstad delivers his budget address to the Iowa legislature. I will. Public Television will be on hand live at 6:30 from the Iowa State House that moved to Wednesday evening. The Democratic presidential contenders involved in minority issues forum that sponsored by the brown black coalition will be held at North High School in Des Moines airtime. That is 8:00 on a public television Saturday afternoon. Democratic contenders dealing with agricultural issues. That's live from see why Steevens auditorium and the Iowa State University campus in Ames. That's at 1 o'clock on Saturday afternoon that's sponsored by the League of rural voters the Iowa farm Unity Coalition and prairie fire. And of course the countdown continues to the 1988 Iowa caucuses now just 22 days away. And we're seven days away from our next edition of Iowa press. Hope that you will join us next Sunday night at 7:00 here on Iowa Public Television for that for a panelist tonight Dave Jepsen and Judy Meyer. I'm Dean for it. Thanks for joining us. Good night.

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