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[Commentary] State House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, is worried about the state budget. In mid-June, Rants posted on his personal site a blog entry detailing new “budget woes” that the Democratic majority could soon be facing on capitol hill. Democrats don’t seem to be too worried.
According to Rants, a recent Legislative Fiscal Committee meeting presentation by the Fiscal Services arm of the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) stated that cigarette and tobacco tax revenues were coming in about $3 million short of initial estimates. For fiscal year 2008, if these trends continue, the revenue could be down by as much as $12 million. The problem that Rants then foresees is in fiscal year 2008, which started July 1.
The first $127.6 million of cigarette and tobacco tax revenue is deposited into a new Health Care Trust Fund that was created in SF 128, legislation that raised the cigarette tax by $1 — from 36 cents per pack to $1.36. Gov. Chet Culver signed the bill into law March 15, and the tax increase took effect immediately. Rants says that if the tax revenue continues to decline there won’t be enough money to fund the new health fund, and that means cuts will have to come somewhere else.
However, there is reason to doubt that Rants’ nervousness is justified.State revenues continue to grow, and the state seems on a steady — if not optimistic — path toward growth. Legislative Democrats, while increasing spending to meet campaign promises, have been efficient and responsible with their spending. Some Democrats even argue that Rants is manufacturing problems that don’t even exist. And Rants’ complaints are representative of many statehouse Republicans.
They’re wrong.
State revenues increased big time in fiscal year 2007. The LSA reported that our state revenues topped $6 billion for the first time ever. They told the Cedar Rapids Gazette earlier this month that “there’s no weakness” in state revenues.
And even if the cigarette tax revenue does decrease–as more people quit smoking, which is what Democrats wanted all along–then so be it. The state had been taking in almost $100 million annually in revenue from cigarettes and tobacco. The estimated revenues from cigarettes and tobacco next year are supposed to be more than $200 million next year, which is still enough to cover the deposit required for the new health care trust fund.
Rants’ problem seems to be a bit of jealousy. Democrats in the legislature had a very successful session in their first time having unified control of the legislature and the governorship since the 1960s. Rants lost his position as speaker of the Iowa House as a result of the power shift, and now he’s doing what a minority does: be vocal and complain about the way things are being run.
Sometimes those complaints are legitimate. It is one of the reasons we protect the rights of minorities in our procedure and in our political system. But sometimes it is just whining.
Rants thinks the sky is falling. The facts seem to show that the sky is higher than ever.
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