The 2017 Iowa legislative session has ended with lawmakers discussing next fiscal year’s budget.

The budget from the current fiscal year experienced two substantial shortfalls that led to numerous cuts to programs, and led the governor to dip into the capital reserve fund. State Representative Ralph Watts says, “It’s been a difficult year as far as the budget’s concerned. That creates the need for some tough decisions, and we’ve had to do that. There’s several changes that are made in some of the longstanding programs that people are used to and familiar with. But when you evaluate it in today’s budget climate, are no longer needed.”

Some of the programs that have not made it through budget cuts include the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, which Watts says will be folded into the Iowa State University agriculture department. Another is the ISU Energy Center, which was implemented nearly 25 years ago to foster renewable energy. Watts says the legislature decided the task of the energy center has largely been completed, so the funding for it will now be directed to the Iowa Economic Development department.

One area where Watts promises there will be no change is with education. The legislature granted a 1.11% increase in state supplemental aid for this year, and that will remain unchanged on next year’s budget. They also plan on giving another $1.5 million to community colleges. Both figures, while not as much as educators had hoped for, are some of the few expenditures on next year’s budget that will not be affected by the cuts.

Watts realizes the state’s budget problems have no easy fix, but he feels it’s a storm they’re going to have to weather until they figure out a way to get Iowa’s economy going. Speaking optimistically, he believes the economic difficulties have allowed the legislature to examine programs more carefully and decide if they’re critical for the state.