DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Democratic-controlled Senate is attempting to revive a proposal to fund water quality initiatives through a sales and use tax increase, but the plan has little support in the Republican-majority House.
A three-member panel of the Senate Ways and Means Committee agreed Thursday to advance a bill that would increase the state’s sales and use tax by less than a penny to pay into a natural resources and outdoor recreation trust fund. The fund, established in 2010, has no money in it.
The bill requires several legislative procedures before it can head to the House, where GOP leaders say they would not support a measure that increases taxes.
The split Iowa Legislature has considered several plans this session to pay for water quality initiatives, but there is little consensus.
