Special session timeline

As disaster recovery moves forward, it might be helpful to take a look back at the debate that shaped the decisions over a special legislative session.

June 13

Culver said it’s possible he will call for a special session so that lawmakers could make policy or financial decisions that would help storm-recovery efforts.

The stadium of North High School in Des Moines after flood waters breached nearby levees (photo by Jason Hancock).

Lawmakers from both parties said they were open to the idea of a special session, but cautioned that knee-jerk reactions should be avoided.

“I know there’s a tendency for politicians to want to flock to solve any emergency. Government can take action, but that’s why we have the National Guard, local law enforcement and firefighters,” House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, a Republican from Sioux City, told the Des Moines Register.

June 27
Top state lawmakers, including state House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said it will not be clear if a special session is needed to deal with weather-related disasters until Federal Emergency Management Agency officials decide if they will waive the huge local and state matching-fund requirements.

June 28
Culver announced the creation of the Rebuild Iowa Commission. The commission’s job includes assessing the storms’ impact on the state and recommending steps lawmakers can take to assist in recovery. Their report will be the cornerstone to a possible special legislative session.

July 11

Culver said a special legislative session could be held in late August or early September. He speculated that some of the issues to be tackled could include relaxing rules to allow families to qualify more easily for state assistance and ways to delay when property taxes are due for families hit by recent disasters.

A home near Ellis Boulevard in Cedar Rapids sits naked after construction crews removed all internal and external damage. (photo by Lynda Waddington)

July 24

Leaders in the U.S. Senate decided to postpone work on a bill that could direct millions of dollars in disaster aid to the state. Congress adjourned for the month of August without passing a relief package.

Aug. 19
Several lawmakers told the Associated Press that chances for a special legislative session to deal with flooding are no better than 50-50.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs; House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque; and other lawmakers said a special session might not be worth the tens of thousands of dollars it would cost. State Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, told the Des Moines Register that it was “pretty dangerous” to have a special session close to the November elections because the effort could turn overly political.

Aug. 31
The state’s two biggest papers disagreed on the need for a special session.

A Cedar Rapids Gazette editorial titled “Make the call, Gov. Culver” said while it is commendable that Culver has been using his emergency powers to direct some state aide to flood relief, broader action is needed, and the legislators must “answer this curtain call.”

Pressure is mounting on Gov. Chet Culver to call a special session of the Legislature to address the state’s disaster recovery issues. Good. Lately, the governor has been straddling the fence on this issue; he needs to jump over it soon.

The Des Moines Register argued that calling a special session should only be done if it is essential, and from the paper’s viewpoint, that isn’t the case.

Make no mistake: There’s much work to be done. But unless there’s an essential step in the recovery that can’t be accomplished without an act of the Legislature — or that can’t be put off until the first few days of the regular session in January — there is no point in bringing 150 lawmakers to Des Moines.

Sept. 3
The Rebuild Iowa Commission released its final report on the state’s needs for disaster recovery, but the panel did not offer advice on whether a special legislative session should be scheduled.

Sept. 5

During a press conference, Culver said he would decide in the next 10 days whether to call a special session, with a decision hinging on whether FEMA will waive the 15-percent match requirement for local communities receiving federal disaster assistance.

That same day, a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers from the affected region asked Culver to call a session anyway.

Rep. Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha; Rep. Bob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids; and Rep. Tyler Olsen, D-Cedar Rapids, joined with Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston in calling for the special session.

Sept. 8

Gov. Chet Culver, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack viewed an exhibit of flood photographs at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art before speaking with local officials and the press about federal disaster assistance funding (photo by Lynda Waddington).

Before touring flood-damaged areas of Iowa, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent President George W. Bush a letter asking him to increase the federal share of disaster aid for Iowa. Bush followed her advice days later and issued an order increasing the federal share of disaster aid to Iowa to 90 percent of eligible costs.

Sept. 12
Sources close to the governor’s office told the Associated Press that Culver has “virtually ruled out” a special session.

In reaction to the news, lawmakers from both parties urged Culver to reconsider, saying there are policy changes local governments need before lawmakers return to regular session in January.

Rep. Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids, told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that cities, counties and school districts need answers to questions about property taxes so they can certify their budgets by mid-March.

Sept. 13
Culver announced a $40 million program, called “Jumpstart Iowa,” designed to immediately help businesses and homeowners affected by the severe weather. Culver also said he doesn’t see an immediate need for a special legislative session to address disaster recovery.

An editorial in the Cedar Rapids Gazette praised the $40 million program but said it would be a mistake for the governor not to call a special session.

Skipping a special session sends a curious message to folks in this part of the state who are still up to their rolled-up sleeves in recovery work. If we don’t need our legislature on the job now, when do we need them?

Sept. 16
Culver met with the editorial board of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, assuring it that a special session is unnecessary. He said he and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge met with local leaders who had been demanding the Legislature be called back to Des Moines and they are now supportive of the governor’s plan, which involves using his executive authority to shift $40 million from the state budget into housing and business assistance.

Gazette columnist Todd Dorman said the governor insisted he can handle this disaster for now without the Legislature.

And stop questioning him. At one point [Culver] snapped “What is it you don’t understand?”

Sept. 19

The Des Moines Register reports that money that Iowa expects to get next year from the federal government to buy out flood-damaged properties could fall short by as much as $50 million based on preliminary estimates of communities’ needs.

Cities around the state requested $251 million to buy 2,752 homes after the summer’s massive flooding. But state officials estimate Iowa will receive around $200 million from the Federal Emergency Management Association.

Sept. 23

The Cedar Rapids City Council was told the city will take an estimated $20 million budget hit this year and next, once the city accounts for losses from unpaid taxes and drops in property valuations and for the added operating costs related to flood recovery, which would most likely mean big increases in property taxes.

Council member Chuck Wieneke accused Culver of “moral cowardice” for not convening a special session to provide some ability to raise local revenue in ways other than property taxes.

“We need help now,” Wieneke said told the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Sept. 25

The U.S. House approved $23 billion in federal aid for disaster recovery, but officials said much of that money won’t be available until 2009. The U.S. Senate passed the bill four days later and sent it to President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

Sen. Tom Harkin told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that the $23 billion disaster aid package includes a provision requiring the HUD secretary to allocate at least one-third of the bill’s $6.5 billion in community development block grants within 60 days of enactment.

Sept. 29

Culver announces that state agencies have identified $73 million that they would have spent next year that can be redirected to flood assistance. This is in addition to the $40 million Jumpstart Iowa program.