Des Moines – On Thursday, January 7, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad invited the Agribusiness Association of Iowa (AAI) board to meet with him and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds at the capitol to talk about his recent water quality funding proposal. AAI board members, including AAI CEO Joel Brinkmeyer, met with the Governor in person. Other board members joined via teleconference to hear the proposal first hand and to ask questions.
Governor Branstad asked for support on a proposal that would provide a long term funding stream for water quality efforts. The revenue would be generated from an existing sales tax provision by extending the end date on that revenue source for schools from 2029 to 2049, provide all existing funding to schools plus an additional increase of $10 million each year, and if there is any excess beyond those amounts, it would be used for funding water quality improvements both from point sources and non-point sources.
The AAI legislative committee will take up the proposal during the next scheduled meeting on January 15. The committee will then make a recommendation to the AAI board regarding support of the proposed framework.
