The Iowa Legislative session resumed on June 3rd and one of the biggest question marks was setting up the state’s next fiscal year’s budget.

District 24 Senator Jerry Behn of Boone says due to the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic and the Revenue Estimating Conference’s decreased projection of $360 million of state revenues for next fiscal year, the state budget will remain exactly the same as the current fiscal year that ends on June 30th.

“We don’t believe that now is the time to increase or grow government. We think Iowa families are tightening their budgets, they’re having to be cautious as they look to the future. We think we should do the same thing down here.”

Behn says the state’s cash reserves and the economic emergency funds are both full in case there are more issues that come up, but he believes Iowa is poised in good position due to the Republican Party’s budget management ideology of not spending more than you take in. He is hopeful that with fewer Iowans staying on unemployment and getting back to work, that will slow down the contracting economy that has happened due to the virus. To hear more from Behn, listen to today’s Community State Bank in Paton Let’s Talk Greene County program.