Rants - Latest News

"So... what's next?"

Christopher — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

“So… what’s next?” – that’s a question I get a lot these days. Truth be told, its also one I ask myself on occasion.

“What’s Rants 3.0 mean?” – ahhh, that’s an easier one. It’s the third stage of my life. Rants 1.0 was the 24 years of life before the legislature; Rants 2.0 was eighteen years engaged in public policy and politics as a legislator and candidate; and now its Rants 3.0, the next stage.

Today I’m actively working as a partner with Rauschenberger Partners out of Chicago & Minneapolis. I’m visiting with other state legislatures on behalf of a coalition of entities both public and private in support of what is known as the Main Street Fairness Act at the congressional level, and called the Streamlined Sales Tax project in state houses. I’ve known Steve Rauschenberger for years, in fact he introduced me to this issue when I was Speaker of the Iowa House. Steve, Corey Miltimore (the Minnesota connection) and I are looking at a couple of different public policy initiatives we can partner on, and I’m excited by the prospect of putting my experience and contacts to work in other states. So instead of a tweet about driving here or there, you are more likely to find one about flying to another capitol.

I’ve also started my own public policy/relations company to do some work a little closer to home -- InSight Communications... While Iowa’s revolving door rules may keep me from lobbying the Iowa legislature for two years, I can still help organizations with grass roots development, campaign guidance, and public policy development.

I’ve also got a concept for a third project called Capitol Back Office – but that needs to percolate for a bit longer…

Most importantly, I’m reconnecting back home. Show choir competitions, gymnastic practices, and providing relief to the family bus driver. Oh, and some golf. Make that a lot of golf… what can I say, its been a very warm April.

The Last Rants & Raves

Chris — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Today I am ending my campaign for the office of Governor. I’ve enjoyed meeting and learning from so many Iowans I’ve encountered on my 54,346 mile journey around our state. It has been a rewarding experience for me, and I hope that I’ve given my fellow Republicans some ideas to consider as they shape an agenda for the 2010 election.

Last fall it became evident that my campaign was a long shot. I continued out of a belief that campaigns should be about issues and ideas, and it was worth the effort to shape the public debate around issues that concern my supporters and me. It is now clear that those opportunities for such a debate are not materializing, and I cannot in good conscience accept or solicit support for an effort I know will be ultimately unsuccessful.

I want to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. From contributors who wrote checks, to supporters who wrote to me with words of encouragement; I can’t express enough my appreciation for your support.

Most of all, I especially want to thank my family, who for the last eighteen years has graciously given me the opportunity to pursue my political aspirations, and far too often shared precious family time with constituent demands.

At the start of this campaign I said it was “up or out.” That hasn’t changed. I honestly don’t know what the future holds for me, except that there will be no more missed school concerts, plays or gymnastics tournaments.

I regret that I leave the legislature this year feeling more troubled about the future of our state that I can remember. I describe it as a perfect storm descending upon our state of school equity challenges, a declining business climate, and massive property tax increases on the horizon. I wish my fellow gubernatorial candidates, and returning legislators the best of luck in protecting Iowans from the dangers that will befall them if nothing is done. As always, the first step is to recognize the danger.

The good news is that there is still time. If Iowa’s leaders will return to the principles that once made us great; a limited government and unfettered free enterprise, our children can enjoy a brighter future.

Walter Lippmann, the Pulitzer prize winning author, once wrote, “the final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on.” My final hope is that I passed the test.

Isn't It Ironic

Chris — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

GOP plan would cut Iowa spending by $290 million

By James Q. Lynch
Des Moines Bureau

DES MOINES — House Republicans offered a plan to slash state spending by $290 million in order to reach Gov. Chet Culver’s goal of $341 million in general fund budget savings.

“The Democrats are $263 million short of the governor’s target to balance the budget,” Rep. Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said.

Rants, who is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Culver, noted the irony of offering an amendment to help the governor reach his goal.

“Republicans are here to work in a bipartisan way to get Iowa’s fiscal house in order,” he said.

Senate File 2088, which senators approved 35-15 earlier this week, comes up about $263 million short of the general funds savings Culver is seeking, Rants said. He bases that on estimates from the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency and widespread doubt lawmakers will approve Culver’s $50 million shift of Road Use Tax Fund dollars to the general fund.

The Republicans’ amendment to a state government reorganization plan includes elimination of one of the governor’s priorities and a number of savings rejected by majority Democrats last year as well as the combination of administrative functions at regents universities.

“Look, we have a $1 billion budget gap. You can’t close that without making tough decisions,” said Rep. Chris Rants, R-Sioux City.

The GOP’s proposal came Wednesday as the House State Government Committee took up SF 2088. Chairwoman Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, didn’t have a specific amount of savings in mind, but wanted to come as close as possible to the governor’s target of $341 million.

“The bigger the better,” she said of the savings, but didn’t comment specifically on the GOP proposal.

The committee was scheduled to meet Wednesday evening, but Mascher expects it will meet again Thursday and possibly Friday to finish work on a bill that is 255 pages and growing.

The Republican amendment identified the following savings:

$92.3 million, end all state benefits to adult illegal immigrants

$62 million, combine the administrative functions at the three regents universities

$45 million, shift voluntary preschool responsibilities to Empowerment

$25 million, eliminate Culver’s Power Fund and Office of Energy Independence

$18.5 million, sell and privatize the state vehicle fleet

$15 million, sell or lease the Iowa Communication Network

$10.5 million, delay implementation of the core curriculum one year

$6 million, cancel all regents university sabbaticals for one year

$5 million, reduce funding for office supplies, service contracts, equipment purchases

$4 million, eliminate taxpayer-funded lobbyists

$2.25 million, eliminate Just Eliminate Lies anti-smoking campaign

$2 million, eliminate family planning waiver

$2 million, eliminate empty shelter care beds

$1 million, eliminate Rebuild Iowa Office, shift responsibility to Homeland Security

Rants concedes the cuts will not be pain-free.

“Do I like all of these cuts? No,” he said. “My concern is that if we don’t find the savings we either cut somewhere else or underfund K-12 education and shove the cost off onto the property taxpayer.”

The Lone "No" Vote

Chris — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday I cast the lone “no” vote on SF 2062 – the Governor and Democrats plan to lure state employees to take early retirement with the goal of saving cash in the budget.

So why break with my fellow Republicans and be the lone “no” vote?

First, I will have a hard time going home and explaining to the 1,500 constituents who just got lay off notices and are looking for work that their tax dollars will go to pay people to quit their jobs – and pay them quite well. The package is worth up to $65,000 per employee. $1,000 per year of service up to $25,000 plus five years of health care on the state plan.

In this economy I don’t think this will pass the coffee shop test. I know I can’t explain it to those folks out of work.

Second, paying people to quit should be our last resort to balance the budget – not the first step out of the gate. The legislature hasn’t passed the “Government Reorganization” bill yet (in part because the Democrats can’t come up with the Gov’s target of $300 M in savings). We haven’t seen a balance sheet to show where other general fund cuts will happen. I asked the question on the floor, if this is passed will there still be layoff and how many – and no one could provide me an answer. Bottom line, the budget is being assembled on the fly without a plan.

Third, of the people eligible for the $65,000 early buy-out, over 2,300 of them are currently eligible to retire today with FULL benefits on IPERS. Full benefit being 66% of the average of their highest three years of salary potentially for the rest of their life, with potential COLA increases.

Fourth, while the press and the Democrats portray this bill as saving $57 Million, the fiscal note shows that it results in saving only $26 Million to the General Fund – the fund that is a billion dollars in the hole. The remainder of the savings are to the road fund (DOT employees) and positions paid for with federal dollars. So again, the budget target isn’t met.

You can read the fiscal note on the bill by downloading it here:

http://www3.legis.state.ia.us/fiscalnotes/data/83_5589SVv0_FN.pdf

Budget Shenanigans

Chris — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Iowa’s budget deficit takes center stage this week as lawmakers begin the process of deciding what they can accept in Governor Chet Culver’s budget, and what they have to reject.

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, a legislator or a concerned taxpayer, you’ll be disappointed by the shenanigans Culver played in assembling his budget.

First – Budget Spends Almost $400 Million More Than Receipts

The first game Culver plays with the budget is using “one time” funds for on-going expense. Over $200 Million from the cash reserve will have to be repaid. Emptying out the last $38 Million from the Senior Living Trust Fund means that seniors will get few services, and next year the Governor and legislators will have to figure out how to replace those funds because the Senior Living Trust Fund will no long exist. The last $140 Million in federal stimulus money is used up, with no plans on how to replace that revenue in the future.

The danger of using “one time” funds in the budget is like using your credit card to pay your mortgage or buy your monthly groceries. You know you’ll have the same expense annually, but no revenue source to fund it. Complicating matters – next year you’ll have to find the revenue for the on-going expense, AND pay off the debt.

Iowan’s need a Governor who will end the practice of playing shell games with the budget, and shifting obligations from one year to the next.

Second – Culver’s Property Tax Hike Becomes Permenant

Culver’s across the board cut to K-12 school funding had the result of raising property taxes last fall. When the state doesn’t fund its share of school aid, but leaves the spending requirements intact it has the effect of handing the bill to the local property taxpayers.

While Culver does put $100 Million of the money he takes from the cash reserve fund toward funding the K-12 formula; he still underfunds the formula by $170 Million. That’s $170 Million that will be paid by property taxes.

By leaving the spending requirements and mandates in place, but failing to fund it two years in a row, Culver’s tax hike becomes permanent. Unless, of course, Iowa’s elect a Governor with a plan to turn it around.

Third – Culver’s “Savings” Don’t Add Up

The buzz words for the legislative session seem to be “government reorganization” and “savings.” The problem is the Culver’s consultants my project one amount to be saved, but when the non-partisan legislative service bureau – whose numbers are required to be used by law – crunch the numbers they come out with a far lower amount. One of Culver’s plans to save $200 Million turns out to save only $47 Million. Other parts of Culver’s reorganization may save revenue – but don’t impact the general fund. Still other plans – like scooping $50 Million from the road fund – have already been nixed by his fellow Democrats.

The bottom line is that Culver’s budget may be balanced on paper today, but it doesn’t meet the 99% Expenditure Limitation Law, and can’t be passed by the Legislature even if lawmakers wanted to accept all of his recommendations.

That’s a failure in leadership. Iowans will have a choice this year. They can choose someone who will just play more of the same shenanigans with their money, or choose a new Governor who will focus on property tax relief, and be just as careful with the taxpayer’s money as he is with his families finances.

Iowa's Perfect Storm - Property Taxes

Chris — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Iowa taxpayers, along with local and state governments, are facing the perfect storm of lack of business development, an escalating tax burden, and a school funding crisis brought on by years of neglect and bad fiscal discipline in Terrace Hill. Where do those three storm clouds intersect? Property taxes, property taxes, property taxes.

Storm Cloud #1 – Obstacle to Business Development

Iowa’s commercial property tax burden is the third highest in the country. Those in the industrial classification are in the top ten. Residential owners are in the top fifteen. If you take the time to talk to business owners, big or small, they’ll tell you that property taxes are the key obstacle to expansion. Ask a developer or builder, and they’ll tell you that Iowa’s property taxes per square foot of built out space make it uncompetitive to build and lease property compared to other states.

If Iowa is to compete with other states for jobs it is our property tax burden that has to be addressed first and foremost. Consider this example: an out of state manufacturer wants to build a new plant. The decision makers will continue to reside in their home state, it’s the managers and production staff that will be in Iowa, so the income tax isn’t much of a factor. Because of Iowa’s single factor formula, the manufacturer will only pay income taxes on the products sold in Iowa to Iowans – products sold out of state are not figured into their corporate income tax. This formula already gives Iowa a leg up on other states when it comes to income taxes for manufacturers. But consider that before the plant ever starts up its assembly line, before any profit can be realized, property taxes must be paid first. That is what makes Iowa uncompetitive.

Consider a second example of the small business owner currently living and operating in Iowa. Many small businesses are run as sole proprietors, and therefore aren’t subject to the corporate income tax. Instead they file as individuals, and receive the advantages of federal deductibility, but still are paying the third highest property taxes in the country on their business property.

Property taxes come regardless of profit, regardless of economy, regardless of loss. They are ever present.

All taxes on investment and productivity carry some level of disincentive and resistance to additional marginal investment. But it is Iowa’s property taxes that carry the most disincentive uniformly across all business models.

Storm Cloud #2 – Automatic Tax Increases On the Horizon

Bottom line: property taxes in Iowa are escalating and will continue to go up unless action is taken. Failure to act is tacit approval of what is about to happen.

Governor Culver’s across the board cut is having the effect of raising property taxes over $250,000,000. While Culver proclaims he is opposed to local school districts raising property taxes to make up the difference, he has taken no action to stop them, instead declaring that the legislature should act when it returns in January. In the last month I’ve met with 23 different school superintendents; 18 are planning on raising property taxes as a result of Culver’s action, none are waiting until January to see what the legislature will do.

Culver’s action is just the latest, in a string of bad news for property owners. For the last three years I have been sounding the alarm that residential and agriculture property taxes are going up – without a single vote being cast to raise the levy rates. In short, Iowa formula for calculating property valuations is in the process of causing $477 million in tax increases for home owners and farmers.

For years the property tax “roll back” has been of benefit to homeowner and farmers. As the above graph shows, the taxable value of a persons home has been declining since 1992. It reached its low point in fiscal year 2009 at 44%. But now its on the rise and will continue to do so for years to come. This can be predicted based on the agriculture productivity formula’s five year rolling average. The non-partisan legislative service agency that runs such numbers shows that the “roll-back” will actually roll up to almost 60%. Bad news for homeowners.

For city dwellers, its estimated that the “roll up” will cost them $238 million. Again, this will happen automatically without a single city council raising their levy rate.

Counties will collect an additional $239 million from residential and agricultural property owners.

Package those two facts with Culver’s de-facto tax increase, and tax-payers will be paying an additional three quarters of a billion dollars in the next few years. Failure to address these facts can only be taken as tacit approval by policy makers.

When this storm cloud hits, it will only compound Iowa’s business development problem.

Storm Cloud #3 – School Funding Formula Inequity

Iowa’s formula for funding schools – a mix of property taxes and state general fund dollars – has grown increasingly inequitable over time. What once worked two decades ago is now out of date and hasn’t responded to the changes in Iowa’s economy and property tax valuations.

The fact is, Iowa is on the cusp of a class action lawsuit over the question of equity in funding K-12 education. The lawyers will argue that “property poor” school districts (those that have a low dollar property valuation on a per pupil basis) are unable to provide the same level of education as “property rich” school districts. If such a lawsuit goes to trial, the “property poor” districts will win. The arguments correlating property valuations and test scores are irrefutable. Poor districts levy higher taxes, yet collect less money. They offer fewer programs for educational excellence and enrichment and thus have lower student achievement scores.

Thus far the debate on this topic has been largely confined to the forums of the Iowa School Board Association. But the patience of the disadvantaged districts is waning. Culver’s cut, and resulting property tax increase only exacerbates the problem. Many “property poor” districts don’t have the luxury of building up cash reserves, nor do they have other discretionary programming to cut. Because their revenues are capped by the formula, they will not see any benefit from the above mentioned increase in state-wide property valuation increases that city and county governments will reap.

The impact of this problem that is seldom talked about is the impact this has on business. It is a disincentive to build in “property poor” areas, leading to urban sprawl and the taking of agricultural land.

Failure to address this problem in 2010 or 2011 is an almost certain invitation to a class action suit. The risk is not that the court will throw out the existing formula, that’s a certainty. The risk is that a new formula imposed by the court may be good for schools, but even worse for taxpayers who are already being soaked by the aforementioned storm clouds one and two…

An Umbrella for Iowa Taxpayers

Property taxes are too high and inhibiting business growth. It is indisputable that they are going higher in the near future for all classes of taxpayers – commercial, residential and agricultural. They are causing problems for school districts and will likely go higher still if no action is taken.

There is no silver bullet to these three challenges. Addressing this problem is difficult and the solutions will be complicated.

Step 1 – Stop the shifting of the valuation burden (the rollback) between classifications by tying them all together and freezing them at their current rate. I will be the first to admit that it is an imperfect solution, but we can’t wait any longer to act. A lifeguard doesn’t wait until the a drowning swimmer reaches the bottom of the pool before they act – they jump in before they go all the way under. In the past policy makers were reluctant to address the roll-back question for fear that residential taxes would go up. Now that they are going up, it’s the perfect time to freeze it. A freeze doesn’t eliminate the commercial property owners problem, but it stops the homeowner and farmer from getting soaked. We address the commercial owners problem with…

Step 2 – The decision to raise taxes must be a conscious one. With the classifications tied together local governments must set their tax rate by setting their levy rate. That sounds obvious and simple but it is not. Today “budgets” are approved based on how much the current levy rate generates when multiplied against the increased valuation. The process must be changed to require affirmative votes on levy rates. The state income tax wouldn’t automatically fluctuate depending on how much spending is approved – neither should property taxes.

Step 3 – The school aid formula needs to be re-written with the state general fund picking up a larger share of the cost, and an elimination of the property tax equity issue. To accomplish this, property tax relief must be the number one priority of Iowa’s next Governor. It must drive every single budget decision made. That cannot be stressed enough.

If the revenue estimating conference raises their estimate of tax receipts – all new revenue must go into addressing this issue, rather then restoring budget cuts made by Culver or about to be made by the legislature in January. If revenues exceed the estimates, a mechanism must be set to put those revenues into property tax relief rather than building up an ending balance in the state’s general fund treasury. State agencies and departments will have to live with the reductions made this year and next so that property tax payers can see some relief. Reductions in the state workforce will have to become permanent so that the private sector can grow.

No exceptions. Property tax relief must come first. Time is running out and failure to act will only make things worse. The place to act is an equitable solution to the education funding formula.

Step 4 – For real long-term savings to occur, the overlapping layers of administration that exist in all aspects of local government must be eliminated. For that to occur the voters must be empowered to initiate change.

How many chiefs of police are required to ensure that a squad car responds to a 911 call in the middle of the night? Only one, but think about your own sheriff and the number of municipal police chiefs in your county.

How many superintendents are required to oversee the existing number of local attendance centers, principals and teachers in each county? If local schools are to remain open, Iowans can’t continue to spend more than 10% on administration of each district.

The challenge for the taxpayer in both of these examples is that their only option is one of reaction. The system is such that citizens cannot initiate such tax-saving ideas. That is only the purview of un-elected administrators and elected officials whose jobs might be placed in jeopardy.

This step will be controversial to be sure, and easily demagogued by proponents of the status quo. Yet they cannot explain how the status quo is sustainable ten years from now without a massive increase in property taxes to keep it afloat. Such an increase is what I seek to avoid.

The opposition can be lessened by helping local governments experiment with combining administrative functions if the state picks up the remaining administrative cost upon reaching a threshold of savings/property tax relief. Experiments that work well will be held out as a model for others to follow. Those that fail to deliver the intended results will fall by the wayside without impacting other parts of the state.

Step 5 – No effort at relief will be successful or lasting unless changes are made to Iowa’s public employee collective bargaining law (Chapter 20). Without changes, any gains made by the taxpayers will be taken away by the unelected arbitrator. There are many changes that should be made, but none is more important than the issue of “ability to pay.” Today local school districts may receive a 4% growth in their funding, yet the teacher’s union wins a 6% increase at the bargaining table. City tax receipts grow 3%, yet the police and fire fighters negotiate a 5% benefit package increase. Binding arbitration must require the arbitrator to consider the local taxing jurisdiction’s ability to finance any award with existing tax revenue.

In summary - There are no perfect or easily solutions to the threat Iowa is facing. Those that say more study is needed haven’t taken the time to look at the mountain of data already amassed. Those that would put our limited financial resources, or their political capital to other fiscal issues – while they may be noble and well meaning intentions – only let these storm clouds and the problems associated with them worsen.

I am running for Governor because I believe that doing nothing on the issue of property taxes is no longer an option. The perfect storm is upon us. The difference between the candidates on the issue of taxes could not be greater. If you agree that Iowa’s next Governor must address this challenge, I would ask that you join my campaign and help take this message of the risk of doing nothing, and the potential solutions to your friends and neighbors.

The Best Way to Overturn the Supreme Court Ruling and Restore Traditional Marriage

Chris — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Earlier this week while speaking to the Tea Party Patriots in Spencer I was asked about the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, and what I would do if elected Governor.

I knew my questioner was hoping to hear me endorse a quick fix like an executive order, but I offered him a much more practical and successful method.

Step One: as the GOP nominee I would throughout the campaign let Iowans know that if elected Governor I would ensure their right to vote on a constitutional amendment, and that I would not let the legislature adjourn until they had a straight up or down vote on that issue. I would make it clear that I would even veto bills to hold the legislature in session until such a vote took place. I’d communicate that message in both the regular press and through campaign advertising.

Step Two: as Governor during the first week in office I’d invite the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House up to Terrace Hill for lunch to discuss the coming year and our mutual priorities. At that time I would show them both all of the press clippings where I’d made it clear I would hold the legislature in session until such a vote took place. I’d tell them, “Gentlemen, I believe in mandates. I told Iowans this is what I would do. They have given me a mandate to do exactly this, and I will do it. So we can get this out of the way now in January, or we can settle this is July. By the way, here is the recent polling data that shows Iowans back me on this proposal.”

Step Three: I will start looking for bills to veto. I will start meeting with rank and file legislators to let them know that I don’t expect them to vote for this constitutional amendment (that’s between them and their constituents) but I do expect them to have a vote. They will understand that I will veto bills, including the budget, to keep the legislature in session. I will have told them that privately and publicly. That will be the start of the pressure cooker. The process will likely reach a crescendo in May or June 2011 when there is no budget approved, and the legislature has been called back into special session.

In short it will be a staring match where the first to blink loses.

I’m known for my tenacity, and if I say I’m going to do something people can count on me to follow through. I will not blink.

It is really that simple.

It is the power that a Governor has. It is constitutional. It cannot be challenged in court and won’t be tied up in a prolonged legal battle. It will be strengthened by the mandate of telling the people of Iowa in advance that is my plan. It will be backed up with their public support. It will work.

Download Nomination Petitions Or Print Caucus Letter

Admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Download nomination petitions by clicking this link RantsPetition.pdf

Please return by mail to Iowans for Rants, PO Box 2773, Sioux City, IA 51106

Download a letter for your caucus here RantsCaucusLetter.pdf

Talking About the Perfect Storm

Chris — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Rants emphasizes lowering property taxes

Thursday, January 21, 2010 ~ Updated 6:57 PM

By Gabe Licht, Daily Reporter Staff

(Photo by Gabe Licht) Former Iowa Speaker of the House and gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, identified a lack of job development, escalating taxes and an outdated, unconstitutional school aid funding formula as the three biggest problems currently facing the state at the Informed Voter Forum sponsored by the Clay County Tea Party Patriots at the Clay County Regional Events Center Tuesday night.
[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

A perfect storm is brewing in Iowa, gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, told a group of about 50 people at the Clay County Regional Events Center Tuesday night.

The former Speaker of the House identified a lack of job development, escalating taxes and an outdated, unconstitutional school aid funding formula as the three biggest problems currently facing the state at the Informed Voter Forum sponsored by the Clay County Tea Party Patriots.

"What do those three things have in common?" he asked. "Property taxes."

Rants pointed to Iowa's commercial property tax rate -- ranked third highest in the nation -- as the reason Iowa ranks 49th in new business and said reducing that rate is more important than eliminating corporate income tax.

He went on to say Gov. Chet Culver's 10 percent across-the-board cut will result in $250 million in property tax increases as school districts raise levies to make up funding disparities. The school aid funding formula contributes to the disparities and is unconstitutional because it does not provide equal education to all students, he said.

Property taxes for residential and agricultural landowners are also expected to increase by $477 million over the next four years due to a changing agricultural productivity formula.

"We ought to be having a gubernatorial campaign in Iowa that talks about what this perfect storm looks like and how do we weather it instead of just having a campaign that talks about who's got the best name I.D. or who's raised the most money," he said. "I'm a guy that actually tries to talk about issues and some of the challenges we face."

Rants offered five solutions to the problems he highlighted:

Tie agricultural, industrial, residential and commercial valuations together to keep them from continually increasing.

Require local governments to vote on raising levies instead of riding increasing valuations.

Change the school aid funding formula to rely on general fund spending more than property taxes.

Consolidate and reduce administration costs in local governments and school districts.

Revise Iowa's public employee collective bargaining laws to prevent salaries from rising higher than valuations.

"Those are the kinds of changes that have to be made if we're ever going to do anything about property tax relief," he said.

After explaining his platform, Rants took questions from the audience.

Concerning a correlation between funding and student achievement, he said, "We have to be willing to make changes in how we fund schools and that won't be popular." Proposed changes include reducing per-pupil spending and canceling plans to spend $70 million on state-run preschools.

When asked about a state's rights bill, Rants voiced concerns about federal legislation that affects the state, such as a $500 million increase in Medicaid tied to health care reform and the high number of call ups for Iowa's reserve military.

An announcement that he cosponsored Iowa Right to Carry legislation endorsed by the Iowa Gun Owners' Association earned him applause from the crowd.

In regards to biofuels, energy independence is important, but a $100 million Power Fund, which created 114 jobs is not efficient, Rants said. He advocated for a economic climate in which the private sector can find solutions to energy problems.

Rants was a supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act and believes Iowans should be able to vote on same-sex marriage.

If elected governor, he plans to veto the budget until legislators vote and allow Iowans to vote on the issue.

Though Rants voted against I-JOBS, he said there is no way to reverse the 20-year bonds involved.

He said there is a way to pay the Iowa State Patrol without diverting road use funds.

"There's $5 billion in other places that we can look at to fund the Iowa State Patrol," he stated.

Rants emphasized the importance of leadership in a governor, defining it as "the ability to disappoint those who place their trust in you at a rate they can absorb."

He later said, "A governor should be able to chew gum, walk, rub his tummy and pat his head all at the same time."

In conclusion, Rants said his experience has equipped him to govern at a time when partisanship is at an all-time high.

"We have to be open to listen to people," he said. "I've won because I've knocked on doors, talked to folks and earned their trust. I think I can do that as a candidate for governor."

Culver's Fig Leaf

Rants — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Today the Iowa House is in session crafting a fig leaf for Governor Culver. On January 12, 2010, Governor Culver proclaimed that since his first day in office, he has balanced the budget every day without raising taxes. However, the facts state otherwise. To cover for the Governor's dissembling, the legislature is taking action to force small school districts to spend down their cash reserves. Reserves that may have been saved to purchase a new school bus, or replace a boiler, or to pay for a teacher's salary as their school enrollment drops.

It is a fig leaf, as the law will apply to less then 30 of Iowa's 361 school districts. Its a fig leaf, and its not even a very large one.

Why does Culver need a fig leaf, to claim he has protected the taxpayer? Just take a look at all of the taxes Culver has raised in the last three years:

School Foundation Formula –Across the Board Cut * 1.5% ATB was done in December 2008, implemented in FY09 – a $33 million property tax increase.

School Foundation Formula – Across the Board Cut * 10% ATB was done in October 2009, implemented in FY10 – a $250 million property tax increase.

2009

Increase in Filing Fees (SF 478), these civil filing fees include: domestic abuse, dissolution of marriage, paternity, modification of a dissolution decree, adoption, appeal in small claims, mechanics lien, statutory lien, certificate and seal, title of real estate, simple misdemeanor, scheduled violation (court appearance is required), scheduled violation (court appearance not required), appeal of a simple misdemeanor to the district court, clerk of district court (tax as a court cost), criminal penalty surcharge. – $16.7 million

Repeal of Livestock Production Tax Credit (SF 478) – $2 million

Increase of Childcare Regulation Fees (SF 478) The fee would be between $150 and $187 annually. By 2013, child care providers would be required to be licensed by the state.

Increase Contractor Registration Fees (SF 478) – increases contractor registration fees, from $25 every other year to $50 every year.

Increase in Hunting and Fishing Licenses fees (SF 478) – $1.7 million

Increasing fees on Franchises (SF 478) allows cities to levy a fee based upon a percentage of gross revenues generated from sales of the franchisee within the city not to exceed 5%. Utility companies will absorb this tax by passing the expense onto the consumer in the form of higher electricity bills. *total cost unknown.

Eliminating casual sales tax exemption on sales of ATV’s (SF 478) – sales tax revenue to increase $560,000 FY10, $570,000 FY11, $600,000 FY12.

Expanded Property Tax Levy Authority (SF 81) – creates a new $30 million “emergency” property tax potential for Iowa schools – $30 million.

County Recorder Fee Increase – (SF 465) – $2.4 m for FY10 & FY11.

Commercial fishing, turtle harvesting and roe harvesting license fee increases (HF 722) – $471,000.

Pharmacy support personal fee – created a registration for pharmacy support personal. The bill did not create a fee for registration, but id did give the Board of Pharmacy the authority to establish a fee by administrative rule. *total cost unkown.

Elimination of the charitable tax deduction under the Endow Iowa program – (SF 478) – Endow Iowa is designed to increase philanthropic activity to enhance quality of life for Iowans.

Nursing Home Quality Assurance Assessment – SF 476- The bill creates a daily assessment on nursing home beds, to be paid to the state. The increase in expenses for nursing home residents on Medicaid allows the state to draw down additional federal funds. The new federal funds are then paid to the nursing homes as part of a higher daily reimbursement rate for Medicaid. The annual amount generated from the fee would be $30 million. To reduce the impact on private pay residents, the state will front-load payments to nursing homes prior to the assessment going into effect. At this point, the federal government has not approved the assessment.

Elimination of the ability for corporations to carry back Iowa net operating losses (SF 483). This will cost Iowa employers $18 million in FY 10, $27 million in FY11 and $11 million in FY12.

2008

Water Withdrawal Fee Increase – (HF 2672). gives the Environmental Protection Commission and the DNR authority to establish annual water withdrawal and use permit fees that will collect up to $500,000 annually.

· Cut state funded weighting for students receiving home school assistance by $7.3 million resulted in one-year authority for school districts to levy property taxes to recoup these state aid loss. (HF 2700). Potential cost: $7.3 million for FY09

· Increased the state sales and use tax from 5% to 6% - (HF 2663). The bill eliminated the School Infrastructure Local Option Sales Tax and replaced it with an increase in the state sales and use tax effective July 1, 2008. Primarily this is an increase on approximately 13,000 Iowa businesses who are required to pay an additional 1% when the business purchases something subject to the Iowa Use Tax.

· Repealed the start-up business state income tax deferral – (SF 2400). Start-up businesses were able to defer state corporate income taxes for the first three years. The potential tax increase was estimated to be $100,000.

· Mental Health Funding property tax increase – (SF 2425). Required counties to levy at least 90 percent of their maximum amount for mental health levy beginning in FY2010. For some counties, this will mean raising property taxes to qualify for mental health funding. *no fiscal note.

· Phase-out of the wage-based tax credit – (HF 2700). In 2007, wage-based tax credits were cut by $6 million, reducing them from $10 million to $4 million. The bill phases out the remaining $4 million, resulting in a tax increase on the Iowa companies utilizing the tax credits.

· Underfunding property tax credits – (HF 2700) contained the funding for property tax credits (Homestead tax credit, Ag Land and Family Farm), which were underfunded $40 million.

2007

Cigarette Tax Increase – * Done in 2007 Session, $33.5 million implemented in FY07 & $107.5 million implemented in FY08.

Propane Education Fund – (HF 556). establishes a state propane education and research council, which would be funded by a surcharge of 1/10th of one cent on each gallon of propane sold. The Council would fund education and safety programs related to the propane industry. Control of the council would be held by propane distributors, who would also have the power to raise the fee on each gallon of propane. *Total Cost Unkown

Registration for Associate Real Estate Appraisers – (SF 137). creates a process for registration of Associate Real Estate Appraisers. The bill gave the Real Estate licensing board the authority to establish the fees for registration.*total cost unknown

Cemetery Code Revision – (SF 559). amended various provisions of the Iowa Code governing funerals and cemeteries. Among the changes enacted were to give the Insurance Commissioner the power to set licensing fees. Those were set in Code prior to passage of the bill.*total cost unknown .

Cigarette Fire Safety Standards – (HF 718). requires cigarettes sold in Iowa after January 1, 2009 to meet certain fire safety standards. The state would adopt the standards established by the state of New York, and require cigarette producers to pay a fee for the state to ensure they comply with the requirements.$115,000.

Pharmacy Regulation – (SF 67). makes a number changes to the code chapters governing pharmacy. The bill also creates a new license for limited drug and device distributors and charging a fee for the license. *total cost unknown.

Game Bird Wildlife Habitat Fee – (SF 558). increases the wildlife habitat fee by $3. Generates an estimated $700,000 annually.

Mandates teacher librarians, counselor and nurses allowing districts to pay for these teachers from property taxes for one year. (SF 277) Cost: unknown.

New administrative sharing weighting creates monetary incentive for districts to combine services with other districts or cities and counties. This “cost-savings” expenditure raises property taxes. (SF 477) Potential cost: $1 million - $6 million

New universal 4-year old public preschool legislation allows school districts to use any K-12 levy to fund and establish preschool. (SF877)

Today's Idea: An Iowa "2nd Amendment"

Chris — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

With the US Supreme Court’s decision today to revisit the 2nd Amendment, its time Iowa ensure the rights of individuals to own firearms by adopting a state equivalent of the 2nd Amendment to the Iowa Constitution,

Iowa is one of only six states that do not provide constitutional protection for the right to keep and bear arms. The other states are California, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey.

With the addition of Justice Sotomayor to the Court, defenders of the 2nd Amendment can no longer assume that it will be applied equally to state and local ordinances. Therefore, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment next year that would protect the right of all Iowans to keep and bear arms, and it will be part of my agenda as Governor.

If you support this idea, please sign our petition here, and let your own state legislator know you want to see Iowa adopt this constitutional amendment.

"Terry Branstad is now criticizing... Terry Branstad"

Chris — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rants: “Terry Branstad is now criticizing… Terry Branstad”

“Candidate Terry Branstad is now criticizing Governor Terry Branstad’s record,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

Today the Branstad campaign is criticizing the Culver administration for considering a practice that the Branstad administration employed for more than a decade.

“It was a bad idea when Branstad did it, it was a bad idea when I had the showdown with Vilsack in the special session, and its still a bad idea now,” said Rants. “Between Terry and me, I’m the candidate that has demonstrated integrity and consistency on this issue.”

“Terry Branstad must have forgotten that in 1985 Governor Branstad started the practice of funding the Iowa State Patrol from the Road Use Tax Fund. Governor Branstad used this bad budget practice for eleven years as governor. During that time Branstad diverted $275,655,000 from the Road Use Fund to pay for the patrol,” added Rants.

“The practice didn’t come to an end until my first term in the legislature when people like myself made the tough decisions needed to get Iowa’s fiscal house in order,” said Rants.

From the Branstad blast email:

“This is no savings. This is a diversion from the Road Use Tax Fund, and a detour from pay-as-you-go budgeting. This is a bad budget practice that was used in the past, and as governor I put an end to it. This is a step backward, and the governor should not play budgetary shell games with our roads and Iowa State Patrol.”

###

"Some of us know Terry Branstad all too well"

Chris — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rants: “Some of us know Terry Branstad all too well”

“Terry Branstad is saying those who believe he isn’t conservative enough ‘don’t know him.’ The trouble is that some of us know Terry Branstad all too well,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“It was Terry Branstad on the other end of the phone when he called lobbying me to raise the cigarette tax when I was Speaker. It was Terry Branstad wielding the veto pen when he gutted our education reform legislation because Republicans wouldn’t go along with all the spending he wanted. It is Terry Branstad’s signature on the largest tax increase in Iowa history,” added Rants.

“Opposing the Branstad tax and spend record doesn’t make someone a member of the ‘confrontational right,’ it just makes them a fiscal conservative.”

On Wednesday Terry Branstad told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald that those criticizing his record as governor, "Now I have people saying I'm not conservative enough. Now I have people calling me a moderate, or a liberal," he said. "These people don't know me."

###

The Debates Begin...

Chris — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This evening will be the first in a series of debates between myself and former Des Moines School Board member Jonathan R. Narcisse, a Democrat from Des Moines and a possible primary challenger to Gov. Chet Culver. We will begin a six city solution oriented debate series - the Quad Cities on Public Safety, Greater Des Moines on State Government Reform, Council Bluffs on Local Government Reform, Cedar Rapids on Education, Dubuque on Tax Reform and Waterloo on Economic Empowerment.

We will be guests on "Deace in the Afternoon" on WHO Radio 1040
AM during the first hour on the 2nd at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

The schedule for the debates, their locations, and the topic to be
covered is as follows:

In the Quad Cities – December 2nd
Public Safety
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Bettendorf Public Library
2950 Learning Campus Drive at 18th Street, Bettendorf, Iowa

In Des Moines – December 3rd
State Government Reform
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
DMACC Ankeny Campus, Health Services Building
2006 Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny, Iowa

In Council Bluffs – December 7th
Local Government Reform
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Council Bluffs Public Library
400 Willow Avenue, Council Bluffs, Iowa

In Cedar Rapids – December 9th
Education Reform
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Crowne Plaza Hotel
350 First Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

In Dubuque – December 15th
Tax Reform
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Holiday Inn, Downtown
450 Mainstreet, Dubuque

In Waterloo/Cedar Falls – December 16th
Economic Development
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Cedar Falls Rec Center
110 E. 13th Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa

Statement on Fong Departure

Chris — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"I want to commend Christian Fong for running a campaign that brought real ideas and solutions to the debate. Christian traveled the state extensively, and that is no easy task for someone with a young family, so I want to extend a thank you to his wife and children for their sacrifice and sharing of his time. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Christian, and I look forward to his continued involvement in Iowa Republican politics."
Chris Rants

Iowa's Perfect Storm: Property Taxes

Chris — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Storm Cloud #1 – Obstacle to Business Development

Property taxes come regardless of profit, regardless of economy, regardless of loss. They are ever present.

Storm Cloud #2 – Automatic Tax Increases On the Horizon

Bottom line: property taxes in Iowa are escalating and will continue to go up unless action is taken. Failure to act is tacit approval of what is about to happen.

For city dwellers, its estimated that the “roll up” will cost them $238 million. Again, this will happen automatically without a single city council raising their levy rate.

Counties will collect an additional $239 million from residential and agricultural property owners.

When this storm cloud hits, it will only compound Iowa’s business development problem.

Storm Cloud #3 – School Funding Formula Inequity

An Umbrella for Iowa Taxpayers

There is no silver bullet to these three challenges. Addressing this problem is difficult and the solutions will be complicated.

No exceptions. Property tax relief must come first. Time is running out and failure to act will only make things worse. The place to act is an equitable solution to the education funding formula.

RPI Fall Dinner Speeches

Chris — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Saturday night was RPI's annual fall dinner. The keynote speaker was Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, but the focus of the evening were the six candidates for Governor. I've posted the youtube videos of my speech, and Terry Branstad's speech.

School Superintendents II - My Responses

Chris — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Unfortunately time didn't allow us to get through more than a handful of questions the other day. In fact, most of the time was spent on just two.

I had a question of my own - how many school districts would be raising property taxes in response to Culver's across the board cut. I asked for a show of hands, and 9 out of 10 went up in the air...

The first question - and by far the most discussion - was on "spending authority" and would we legislators allow there to be an unfunded allowable growth. In plain English - would we allow school districts to keep the ability to fill the shortfall with property taxes, or would we take it away.

I said I would vote to take away their spending authority, and reset the allowable growth amount to reflect the new reality.

That is not what may want to hear, but there are three key reasons for doing so...

First, Iowan's can't afford a $543 Million property tax hike. Even thought the Governor cut half that amount from schools, when the next fiscal year starts that is the size of the gap over two fiscal years. I see no plan to be able to fill that shortfall with state general fund dollars, and I think it is unrealistic to expect that to happen. Therefore to avert a half a billion property tax increase, allowable growth needs to be reset. Everyone who follows school finance knows this to be true - I my be the only one honest enough to say it.

Second, failure to reset allowable growth means that gap stays with us and continues forward year after year after year. With a number on the books, the teachers union goes into collective bargaining asking for that amount (as a minimum) even though there isn't really cash behind it. For school districts its the perfect storm of unfunded mandates, and a broken collective bargaining system.

Third, its makes the situation worse for property poor school districts. To allow it to stand destroys any shred of "equity among districts" there is left.

Before the discussion finished on spending authority we started talking about the unfunded mandates - preschool, nurses, guidance counselors, etc... The plea from superintendents was very real - "if you are going to cut us, then you have to let us manage those cuts." I agree - I'd lift the mandates. I've been an outspoken critic of the pre-school program and have written about it before on this blog.

Next up we rolled from one mandate to another - the salary increase for teachers. The challenge for districts is that the Culver pledged money to raise teacher salaries, its now been inserted into collective bargaining - but the state can't uphold its share of the deal, leaving school boards to either raise property taxes to make up the shortfall, or lay off teachers so that they can plow those dollars saved through staff cuts into paying the raises for those left behind. In short they are looking for some relief in the collective bargaining process.

I promised to offer the amendment to grant them that relief.

We hopped around the question list, and the idea of opening up the "seventh penny", what was supposed to be the local option sales tax for school infrastructure, to other uses was raised. The question was asked how many districts had already bonded against it, and almost all hands shot into the air. Rep. Wendt said that would make it highly unlikely that the penny would change, and he'd vehemently oppose doing so. While I am also opposed, I'm less optimistic. The size and scope of the budget challenge leave me believing that the Governor will change the use of that tax to allow districts to pay salaries with it. its a bad plan, and I hope I am wrong. But the first warning shot was fired this week when the ISEA lobbyist Brad Hudson made the suggestion as a way to soften the budget problem. That didn't happen by accident.

We then talked IPERS - I support raising the rule of 88 to a higher number as a way to bring health to the system, and raising contribution rates. But I doubt much will actually happen this year. There will already be too much pain out there, and I doubt Culver will have the intestinal fortitude to tackle this issue, and will instead kick the can down the road a bit further.

That marked the enough of our discussion.

One superintendent remarked after hearing some of our gloomy forecasts, "can't you give us some hope?" I reminded him that Iowan's and the nation chose "hope" over honesty last fall. How's that working out for us?

I've found that it may not always be popular to give people a straight and honest answer about the real challenges we face - but we are all better off in the long run if we hear what we need to hear - not what we hope to hear.

Tea Party Preview

Chris — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It will be a busy weekend from attending the GOP dinners in Union and Hamilton counties, to the Tea Party in Des Moines and the GOP Fall Dinner at the fair grounds.

All candidates were asked to submit a short video to be played at the Tea Party - this is mine...

What School Superintendents Are Thinking About

Chris — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today the school superintendents from northwest Iowa school districts are meeting with legislators. Its an annual meeting, but for the first time ever they have sent out a list of questions in advance. It is a good glimpse into what challenges our education leaders are facing, the questions they have about the future, and their need for answers as they try to provide the best possible education to our children.

Although its a series of questions for legislators, it is really something all candidates for Governor should be addressing as well.

I will post my responses here shortly.

Northwest AEA Superintendents’ and Administrators’ Meeting

LeMars Community School Education Service Center

940 Lincoln St., SW, LeMars, 51031

Thursday, November 5, 2009

10:00 a.m.

Questions for legislators

"Spending Authority" is a major factor in providing and maintaining financial solvency for all of Iowa's public schools. Would you support an “Unfunded Allowable Growth" percentage (%) for FY11 & FY12 strictly for the purpose of maintaining the future financial solvency of Iowa's public schools? Why and Why Not?

If funding for everything we want to do is not available, is it time for the state level education community, state legislature, and governor to return the focus of all K-12 funding to those things that we must do? This is what has occurred in my local school district over the past couple of years and will continue for the next few years in response to the funding crisis. For example:
1. Do we have to provide publicly funded pre-school?
2. Do we have to provide publicly funded college credits to high school students at no cost?
3. Does the state have to pay teachers above and beyond the negotiated master agreements that exist in all school districts?

During this challenge of historic proportion, it must be acknowledged that districts that are property poor have a much more significant set of hurdles to overcome than their property rich counterparts. Legislative calls for simply raising property taxes or shifting expenses to other funds cannot be done when property poor districts are already levying an extreme amount. What will you do this legislative session to use this opportunity to bring some parity to the situation of property tax inequity that exists in our state?

Do you think the local option sales tax will be opened up for general fund purposes other than facility costs?
1. What would be the ramifications of that?

Please address the jointly enrolled courses, the Senior Year Plus legislation, and the 23 credit limit for the weighted $$ that the DE and State Board of Education mandated in their rules.

As resources shrink for all of us, more cooperation needs to be incentivized, not less. Career and Technical Education partnerships is an area especially hit hard by this, and an area that certainly needs partnerships to provide for our students. STEM classes are continuously being advocated on the state level (as a member of the Iowa Power Fund Board I hear it every meeting) but they would fall under the same credit limit restrictions.

If the current state level budget situation is a spending problem and not a revenue problem, and education funding is a priority for both the state legislature and governor, what other areas of state spending will be eliminated in order to spend the available revenue on the priorities?

Why is the district’s ability to pay not considered by arbitrators? As superintendents we are handcuffed with spending authority and by Chapter 20, and this is not considered by arbitrators.

Chapter 20 – do you predict any changes?

What sources of revenue will the legislature and governor use to restore funding levels to K-12 public school districts for FY11 to at least FY09 levels and preferably to budgeted FY10 levels prior to the 10% ATB cut?
1. Is this even possible?

How can superintendents have a better relationship with legislators?

What do you think the changes in IPERS will be?

Will the state calendar and school start dates be debated again? Will the legislature make a decision? Yes or no, but lets’ stop debating it.

We say that all students are equally important and represent an equal dollar amount statewide, yet property poor school districts comprise an excessive percentage of the "at risk" population as designed by the state. Property poor districts, therefore, have further challenges than their property rich counterparts as they levy for management, PPEL and other funds. How can you work to legislatively target property tax equity in these funds as a solution?

What is your opinion of early retirement being considered as part of Chapter 20?
1. What are the ramifications of that for property tax dollars?

According to Iowa State Legislative Services, education comprises more than 40% of the State of Iowa budget of expenditures. Will you support the existing level of state aid to public schools? Why or why not?

Iowa’s Public Schools currently rank in the top five [5] % when comparing student achievement with student achievement in other states. What course of action would you support, with your legislative vote, for the purpose of maintaining and improving the "top 5% ranking" of Iowa's Public Schools?

Patty Judge Giveth, Chet Culver Taketh Away...

Chris — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Lt. Governor Patty Judge will pay a visit to my legislative district this week, and she’ll be bringing a big check… a $250,000 grant will be awarded to the City of Sgt. Bluff to help pay for renovations to the city hall.

It is part of Culver’s “I-JOBS” program – although I have no idea what lasting jobs will actually come about from spending $250,000 to renovate a city hall.

This comes just a few weeks after the Sgt. Bluff school district discovered that they would lose over $655,011 in funding from Gov. Chet Culver’s across the board budget cut.

To the Sgt. Bluff taxpayers it nets out as a $405,011 loss.

Let’s be honest about that. The city may get the grant, and the school district may take the cut, but regardless of the local government entity it is still the same taxpayers who will end up paying more.

Not to mention that those kindergartners whose classroom funding is being cut, will be out of college and may have children of their own, before the bonds that financed that $250,000 grant are paid off by them.

I know, I know… local political types are supposed to turn out, celebrate, and give a big thank you to the Governor’s emissary for their ‘gift’ and largess. I just can’t.

I may be the only one, but to me this is insanity. It shows just how mixed up Culver has his priorities. To give a $250,000 grant that will take 20 years to pay off, meanwhile cutting $655,011 in school aid to the same community which will have to be made up by the property-taxpayers.

It’s the whole budget/bonding fiasco demonstrated in one community.

Iowans deserve better, and that’s why I’m running for Governor. You can join our team, or support that effort by visiting our website here http://rants2010.com/support.aspx

Chris

DMR: Fiery GOP lawmaker Rants rises above adversity

Admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Race for governor: Fiery GOP lawmaker Rants rises above adversity

By JASON CLAYWORTH

Pella, Ia. — Initial response to an event here last month represents one of Christopher Rants' biggest hurdles in his attempt to win the Republican nomination for governor: name recognition.

"I made a lot of calls before the meeting to invite people and, invariably, the question was, 'Well, who is he?' " said Irene Bloom, chairwoman of the Marion County Republicans, who helped organize the event attended by 25 people.

"I was flabbergasted, to be honest with you. Christopher Rants has been in the limelight for years."

Rants was once a boy wonder of Iowa politics, first elected to the Iowa House in 1992 at age 25. He steadily gained responsibility and influence, eventually becoming speaker of the House, known for his sharp mind and sharp partisanship.

But now, at the point in his political career where he has set his sights on the state's highest office, that limelight has faded.

Republicans lost their majority in the House after the November 2006 elections, knocking Rants from speaker to minority leader. Then, in the 2008 elections, Republicans lost more seats to Democrats. In response, House Republicans voted to replace him as their leader.

The setback left Rants, now 42, his hair flecked with gray, questioning whether he wanted to continue in politics.

"It was a tough fall," Rants said. "But everybody in life loses something. The question is: Do you pick yourself back up, or, when you get knocked down, do you stay down? I tend to believe you ought to be judged on how you handle adversity, not on if you've experienced it."

Part of the inspiration for picking himself up came in March, when he took part in an Aspen-Rodel Fellowship. The trip, paid with no taxpayer money, included two dozen U.S. politicians who spent a week in Egypt and Israel as part of a program to promote peaceful interaction with world leaders.

In a trademark mix of humor and seriousness, he jokes that he was the only person on the trip whose career was "on the downhill slide." But he also described his visit to the Holy Land as spiritually moving and a personal turning point. As he visited religious sites, he thought about service and his life's purpose.

"It rekindled the fire within me," said Rants, who formally converted his fundraising committee, "Iowans for Rants," into an account for his governor's race on June 19.

Known for his intensity

Rants, in his leadership roles, was known for strident partisanship that often irritated his opponents, who say some of his comments were misleading or unfair.

In 2007, for example, he called a program that temporarily allowed Iowans to skip penalties and half of their unpaid interest on delinquent taxes as "tax breaks for tax cheats."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy at the time said Rants used "over-the-top and fairly reckless statements" that likely had a "chilling effect" on collections, which fell far short of expectations.

McCarthy recently called Rants "the most intense individual I've ever met."

"He loves the fight," said McCarthy, D-Des Moines. "I think he thrives on the battle. He's one of the most effective partisan debaters I've ever met."

Former House Republican leader Chuck Gipp, who roomed with Rants during legislative sessions, called him "intense, focused and studious."

"Everything he does, he does with the same intensity," Gipp said. "It's a plus, but, at times, it's probably a minus as far as interacting with people. You've got to know Christopher to truly appreciate the talent and drive he has."

Gipp said Rants maintains deep commitment to family and friends.

"If you roomed with him for 10 years like I did, you know there's a lot more to him than what people see," Gipp said.

No longer in a leadership role, Rants did not play the partisan aggressor as much in the 2009 session, but he remains "who he is," which is a legislative workhorse who gets things done, said Brent Siegrist, a former House speaker.

"He's very intelligent, but his downside, as he knows, is that people view him as abrupt," Siegrist said.

His first hurdle for now is introducing himself to Iowans beyond those who follow politics closely. In a September Iowa Poll, 72 percent of respondents said they did not know him well enough to have a favorable or unfavorable impression of him.

Family shapes views

Rants married Trudy Moody, a Storm Lake native, in 1992, the same year he was elected as a state representative. She works for Grace United Methodist Church in Sioux City as the child and youth services director. They have two daughters, Grace, a high school freshman, and Katharine, a middle school student.

The family is close, but a political career that requires him to spend so much time away from home creates stress, he acknowledged.

"There are times when she is acting as a single parent," Rants said of his wife.

Rants recalled a moment several years ago when he returned from the Legislature early in the morning and was headed out again to make a quick appearance at a Sioux City event. His oldest daughter thought he was going back to Des Moines for another extended period and began to cry.

Many Iowa families face similar balancing acts, with both time and money, he said.

"We're not unlike any other Iowa family who sits around the kitchen table and worries about how to make ends meet," Rants said.

A family experience also has shaped his pro-life views. He's always opposed abortion, but his views became stronger and more personal after pregnancy complications threatened the life of the couple's first daughter.

"I don't know how anybody who goes through that experience doesn't come out of it with a deep abiding belief about life," Rants said. "If it's life worth saving, if it's life worth praying for. That's life."

'Policy wonk' on the trail

Rants, who has logged more than 36,000 miles so far driving between campaign events across the state, often focuses his talks on education, the state's budget and property taxes.

He tells crowds that he's a "policy wonk."

He also says that children in Iowa are not challenged enough in school.

The state's tax system needs a major overhaul to lower rates for both families and businesses, he says.

Rants also focuses attention on government beyond the state level. He wants to eliminate layers of government he says are duplicative. He questions how many police chiefs are needed in one county or how many school superintendents are needed throughout the state.

He also believes pay cuts for state employees and eliminating the jobs of others will ultimately be needed.

"I just don't think we can have this level of bureaucracy in the future," Rants said. "There's no way to support it financially from a taxpayer perspective."

Echoing a position popular with much of the party's base, Rants has advocated for legislation that would reverse this year's Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

But he hasn't matched Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats' pledge to issue an executive order to halt gay marriages if elected governor. Vander Plaats is also seeking the Republican nomination.

At the event last month in Pella, an audience member accused Rants of subjecting himself to the "Supreme Court's tyranny" for not making that vow.

Rants calmly explained that such an order would not be legal because of the separation of powers of government. The only logical route to end gay marriage would be to amend the state's constitution, he explained to the man.

"I can't tell people I'd do something that I know wouldn't work," Rants said.

Beyond name recognition, Rants considers fundraising to be his other major hurdle in seeking the nomination. Former Gov. Terry Branstad's announcement that he's considering a run for the GOP nomination has slowed fundraising, he said.

"I may be the only candidate honest enough to say this," Rants said. "It doesn't stop me from plowing ahead, but it's certainly made fundraising more difficult."

He remains undeterred.

"For most Iowans it's still very early," Rants said. "Most people aren't even thinking about it yet."

A Smarter Way

Chris — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Governor Culver’s 10% across the board reduction, has left me with mixed emotions.

On one hand, I have to be pleased that the Governor has finally, at last, taken action. Cutting $565 Million is necessary – to balance the FY 11 budget, not the FY 10 budget. But more on that in a moment.

My concern with Culver’s cut is the indiscriminate nature, the increase to property tax payers, and the effect it will have on school districts and public safety.

I believe that a 10% across the board cut is a dumb and lazy way to solve Culver’s budget problem. Iowans need a smarter solution.

There is no doubt that education will feel the pain of budget cuts along with the rest of state government, but I contend there is a smarter way to do it. Rather than cutting all education programs equally, Culver and the Legislature should first eliminate education programming started in just the last few years – like the pre-school plan that delivers only 10 hours of pre-school at a cost of $53 million to the tax payers. Almost $2 million is being spent on developing model core curriculum, and the Regents will spend almost $27 million on library acquisitions. Cutting those items would lower the cut K-12 school would need to endure.

Considering that hiring decisions for the school year were made months ago, and the kids are already in class, I think a more appropriate cut to schools would be to zero out their allowable growth for the year – take them back to the same funding level of the 08/09 school year. Instead Culver took them back to 07-08 funding levels – but left in place the requirement to do things like provide pre-school programs and provide two years worth of negotiated salary increases.

Considering that property taxes are likely to skyrocket over $250,000,000 due to Culver’s actions, its worth looking at smarter cuts. For instance, pulling the plug on the Power Fund and the Office of Energy Independence would save $25M. Delaying the purchase of new vehicles for the state fleet would save $11M. Elimination of the funding for commercial service airports saves another $1.5M. Eliminating the line item for family planning from the budget saves only $10,000, but elimination will stop the program from growing again. While politically popular, eliminating the line item for “un-used” shelter care beds, the JEL programming and All Iowa Opportunity Scholarships would save another $7,500,000, which would stave off cuts to more meaningful programs. In addition the paper clips have to be counted – last session my fellow Republicans identified over $10M in office supply reductions, but the cuts were never enacted.

When the budget is tight, this is the worst time for the state to be spending $10,000,000 acquiring land for the REAP Open Spaces program. Save those dollars to avoid a property tax increase for the rest of us.

Tough times like this also call for doing business differently; like consolidating the administrative functions for 23 different early childhood programs into a single administrator – projected savings a minimum of $2M.

Iowa should look at consolidating IT procurement and services from multiple state agencies into one – and consider what we can outsource – projected savings $20,000,000.

Businesses often refocus on their “core competencies” – basically sticking to what they do well, and jettisoning what they don’t. State government should do the same, and I think running a phone company and Internet provider would fail to make the list of things government must do, or does well. It is long past time to sell the Iowa Communications Network, get out of the phone business, and plow the $15,000,000 we could get from selling the backbone of fiber back into the budget.

State government also has to look at under-utilized resources. Our facility in Cherokee currently has empty space and beds. Iowa should look at housing out of state prisoners at that facility and charge a price that would defray a minimum of $1,000,000 that Iowa currently spends there.

Lastly, salaries of state employees must be considered in order to save jobs in priority areas. The private sector has been imposing salary freezes and cuts to save head count. The public sector should not be immune from making those same sacrifices. If state government were to reduce salaries by 2% for those employees making less than $40,000 a year; 4% for those making less than $50,000 a year; 7% for those making less than $100,000 a year, and 10% for those making more than $100,000 annually; the tax payers could save over $75,000,000.

Those would all be smarter cuts; that set priorities and protect the taxpayer. They are enough to balance the FY10 budget.

I said earlier that Culver’s actions were more about balancing FY11 that FY 10. I said that because Culver only needed to cut 6.7% to balance the FY 10 budget. According to the new balance sheet from the non-partisan fiscal bureau, his actions have now created an $188M ending balance. The reason Culver cut a full 10% is because he now has to admit that the economy won’t rebound enough to close the $1 Billion gap in the FY 11 budget. Cuts made in FY 10 will carry over to FY 11, so the more he does now, the less he has to do as election day draws closer.

The changes wrought by Culver’s actions threaten to disrupt school districts and put vital services like public safety in jeopardy. Iowa needs smarter solutions. That’s why I’m running for Governor and asking for your help and support.

A Cold Night in The Barn

Chris — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Revenue Dip No Surprise - What Happens Next Matters Most

Chris — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Revenue Estimating Conference met today to revise the revenue estimate for FY 2010 and set the revenue estimate for FY 2011.

The previous estimate for FY 2010 was $5.843, or -1.4 percent compared to actual adjusted FY 2009. The new estimate is $5.438 billion, or -8.4 percent compared to FY 09. This is $415 million lower than the estimate used to create the FY 2010 budget.

When the ending balance is taken into account, the budget is $315 million short for FY 2010. Also by law the Governor is required to refill the $45.3 million taken from the Economic Emergency Fund to balance the FY 09 budget.

In order to balance the budget he would need to order a 6.2 percent across the board cut. If he notwithstands the EEF language, he would need a 5.4 percent across the board cut.

I believe an across the board cut is a dumb and lazy way to handle the problem.

A smarter solution that reflects the priorities of Iowans is to make a series of targeted reductions, and program eliminations.

It doesn't make sense to cut the purchasing of new vehicles for the state fleet by 5.4% or half a million dollars when a smart move would be to stop the purchasing the cars entirely and save a full $11 million. The list could go on and on.

What concerns me most is that an across the board cut may lead to an increase in property taxes. If Gov. Culver cuts the state portion of K-12 school aid, but leaves intact their spending authority, that means school districts can back fill his cut with property taxes. That is the last thing Iowas dragging economy needs now.

If, or more likely when, Governor Culver issues his across the board cut, at that time I will put forward a list of targeted reductions and eliminations.

Then we'll let Iowans compare the impacts of the two ideas and decide which one is a better solution.

Candidate with Answers, Not Just Questions

Admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rants’ ideas Web site worth a look

By Kathie Obradovich • Des Moines Register • October 5, 2009

Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants today launched a Web page called 99ideas.org, devoted to ideas for how to improve Iowa and state government.

It’s basically a list of ideas, alphabetized by topic, that Rants has either come up with himself or adopted from others. Eventually, the ideas are supposed to number 99. It’s ambitious, and while it doesn’t say which of these ideas would be priorities for Rants, it does give voters a taste of his views on a wide variety of issues.

The site is a good showcase for one of Rants’ greatest strengths as a gubernatorial candidate — a detailed understanding of state issues and an ability to communicate specific policy proposals. Candidates too often stick to describing problems and assigning blame, without offering any detailed solutions. This site will help position Rants as a candidate with answers, not just questions.

Here’s an example of an idea from his site:

Home Mortgage 529 Plan – This idea is patterned after the 529 college savings plan. Not all kids go to college, but everyone needs a home. As the mortgage industry struggles, it would help first time home buyers to build up a reasonable down payment. It ensures that riskier loan products aren’t needed to get buyers into a home. Encourage parents and family members to make tax deductible deposits into a savings account that would grow tax free to be used for an initial down payment on a qualifying new home. The college savings account has been a tremendous success because it has both state and federal tax benefits. If Iowa does this right, we could lead other states to follow suit, with the goal of obtaining federal tax benefits as well.

RELEASE: New Audit Shows More Trouble for Culver

Chris — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

October 6, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: “New Audit Shows Culver’s

Mismanagement of Public Funds

Started as Secretary of State”

“Chet Culver hasn’t managed the public’s money well as Governor, and this new audit shows he didn’t manage it well as Secretary of State. The US Election Commission’s audit shows highly questionable activities from no-bid contracting, to salaries paid without documentation,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“The audit by the United States Election Assistance Commission shows us that the incompetence of the Iowa Film Office is not an isolated incident. Governor Culver has no one else to blame this time. Culver has fired others in recent weeks for mismanagement, this time it should be Culver’s job on the line. ”

The US Election Assistance Commission Office of Inspector General – audited the administration of payments received under the Help America Vote Act by Iowa’s Secretary of State from April 10, 2003 through April 30, 2008. The audit became public this week. The audit was completed by Clifton Gunderson LLP, the same firm that also released an audit report on the Iowa Film Office and its mismanagement of tax credits.

The “audit concluded that the SOS did not account for and expend HAVA funds in accordance with the requirements” of the US Election Assistance Commission and federal procurement guidelines.

The audit found that then Secretary of State Culver had:

• $1.2 M in sole source contracts to three vendors, and in violation of normal state bidding and purchasing

• $2,555,274 on “questionable activities including (Appendix C)

• $118,224 spent on activities unrelated to voter education.

• $885,573 of salaries and benefits were paid without proper documentation that the work done was HAVA related.

• $3,094,662 in accounting errors and misreported funds

The complete audit can be downloaded at

http://www.eac.gov/eac_ig/2009-audits-and-reports-1/eac_ig/docs/ia-final-report-9-24-09-published-final-508/attachment_download/file

“Chet Culver’s habit of awarding no-bid contracts to the State Public Policy Group (SPPG) deserves more investigation. Culver’s decision making certainly raised red flags with the auditors,” said Rants. “As Governor he awarded them a no-bid contract with RIO, and now it is discovered that they were paid $763,702 on a no-bid contract when he was Secretary of State. Culver has ignored his duty to make sure the taxpayers get the best deal possible, and instead continues to reward friends and supporters.”

Rants pointed to the specific mentions of the problem with no-bid contracts detailed on pages 10 and 11 of the audit:

“The problem was that fees for services were negotiated with the contractors and not subjected to competition and comparison with other bidders so that the SOS could ensure it got the best value or even a reasonable price. For example, the professional fee with the vendor for facilitation and management of the HAVA program was identified as $22,145 per month for the last 11 months of 2005 without identifying an hourly rate or an estimate of the hours to be worked or the number of employees assigned to the contract in order to earn the monthly fee.”

“The following amounts were paid to contractors where sole source procurements were made by the SOS without justification and where the SOS did not have procurement standards and requirements for full and open competition, affirmative steps to assure that minority firms, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms are used when possible, cost and pricing analysis, and a written code of conduct that prohibited real or apparent financial conflicts of interest. Accordingly, we question all costs associated with these contracts.”

###

Iowa Chrisitian Alliance Video

Chris — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

At Saturday's Iowa Christian Alliance annual dinner, rather than make speeches all candidates were invited to present a two minute video. This was mine.

RELEASE: Rants: First Quarter Tax Report Pegs Budget Deficit at $300M

Chris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

October 1, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: First Quarter Tax Report

Pegs Budget Deficit at $300M

“With the end of the first quarter, Iowans now have a clear picture on the size of Culver’s budget deficit. Revenues for the quarter are negative -9%. Half of that is due to Culver’s budgetary slight of hand, and half is a real decline in tax receipts. If you extrapolate that out over the rest of the fiscal year, Culver has a $300 million shortfall, and he’s already a quarter of the way through the year,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“I would expect to see the Governor issue a 5% to 6% across the board cut in the next few weeks. A smarter move would have been to reconvene the legislature to make selected cuts and whole eliminations.”

The report from the non-partisan Legislative Service Agency can be found here: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/lsadocs/MonMemo/2010/MMSLS001.PDF

The current Revenue Estimate is set at -.7% or $5.71Billion. The report shows that for the first quarter of the year, revenue was down a -9.1%.

Issues and Solutions

Chris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Allow nonresident owners of farmland to be eligible for free landowner deer licenses now allowed to resident farmland owners.

New Additions	Back ground color denotes a new addition to the list since the last update.
Property Tax	Tie Property Tax Classifications together to stop the skyrocketing effect of climbing values on residential and ag land.
Property Tax	Create a property tax reduction fund with new state revenues.
Property Tax	Use the property tax reduction fund to take on more cost of K-12 from property taxes.
Property Tax	Use the property tax reduction fund to provide an incentive to local voters to eliminate duplicative layers of administration within a county.
Health Care	Establish a midwest purchasing co-op through an interstate compact with other regional state, in the event the federal government does not allow multi-state choice for insurance carriers as part of the federal health care reform legislation.
Health Care	Instruct the insurance commissioner to start a new basic individual health insurance policy with no-mandates. A "buyer beware" that offers limited coverage but at an affordable price.
Health Care	Tie mediciad reembursement to a quality rating. Those hospitals providing the best quality should receive 100% reimbursement.
Health Care	Commit to establishing e-medical records within four years. Eliminate the cost and time of all the paper.
Health Care	Create iowacomparecare.com to help Iowans be better consumers with information on cost, quality and outcomes.
Health Care	Impose a $250k cap on medical malpractice non-economic damages
Health Care	Establish a certificate of merit requirement on medical malpractice claims
Health Care	Mandate mediation before trial on medical malpractice claims.
Judiciary	Change process of appointing judges to be a true Governor's pick, ratified by Senate. Eliminate the role of the Bar Association in determining the list.
Education	Bring more choice to parents by establishing public charter schools or frontier schools, not subject to Chapter 20 limitations.
Education	Allow more alternative certification to get other professionals into the class room who demonstrate competency. Iowa faces a shortage of instructors in core areas of math and sciences. This is a solution.
Education	Promote foreign language studies that reflect today's economy. Thousands of Iowa students are learning French and German, when they should be learning Mandarin.
Education	Standardize the school year calendar with beginning start dates, and times. Too much of the beginning of the school year is lost to early outs and half days. In addtion dissimilar schedules make it difficult if not impossible to share classes and do distance learning.
Education	Convert existing state scholarships to a scholar awarded for performance on standardized tests in highschool.
Hunting	Sell two tags for the price of one - to use an anysex tag, an anterless permit must be used first.
Hunting	Allow landowners who can demonstrate economic damage from deer up to 10 antlerless depredation permits at no cost.
Hunting	Create a special nonresident (think tourism and visiting relatives) anterless deer hungint season over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Hunting	Allow landowners to transfer their deer depreation permits to another person.
Budget Accountability	Legislative policy changes must include the appropriation - no more separating policy from money – that only leads to unfunded mandates on local governments.
Budget Accountability	A constitutional amendment to limit appropriation power to one fiscal year. Much of Iowa’s budget difficulty comes from multi-year commitments despite not having revenue available.
Budget Accountability	Establish an E-budget for Iowa. Every item, every expenditure will be transparent and reported in an on-line database so the public can see how their money is spent, and who is receiving their tax dollars.
Budget Accountability	Every department must post on-line salaries, and comparable private sector wages - or services and comparable private sector costs.
Business Development	Expand and enhance the Research and Development tax credit. The R&D credit brings high wage and high skilled jobs to Iowa.
Business Development	Reward good behavior. Create a performance based permitting process within the IDNR and other agencies that rewards good actors with longer term permits, easier renewals and shorter application times.
Business Development	New start ups (the most likely to fail) get a tax free start for the first five years. We should set as our goal to move from the 49th best state in the nation to start a new business to be in the top ten.
Illegal Immigration	Mandatory minimum sentence per violation per day, with a cumulative effect on employers who hire illegals. Unscrupulous employers must have no incentive to hire people in Iowa illegally.
2nd Amendment	Adopt a state constitutional amendment the protects at the state level the same rights guaranteed under the federal constitution’s 2nd amendment.
2nd Amendment	Establish an affirmative right to carry a concealed weapon for law abiding citizens.
Home Ownership	Establish a state 529 plan to allow friends and families to help first time home buyers save tax free for their down payment. Patterned after the 529 college savings plan.
Collective Bargaining	In public employee collective bargaining, require the arbitrator to consider the "ability to pay" of the employer/taxpayer.
Collective Bargaining	In public employee collective bargaining, allow the arbitrator to pick mid-points, or to settle on a point between the two parties last offer.
Collective Bargaining	In public employee collective bargaining, allow contract negotiations to be re-opened when the state government reduces funding to the local government entity.
Budget Reductions	Visit this blog article for a "smarter way" to cut the budget and put our fiscal house in order.

RELEASE: Time for a 2nd Amendment to Iowa Constitution

Chris — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

September 30, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: Time for a “2^nd Amendment” to the Iowa Constitution

“With the US Supreme Court’s decision today to revisit the 2nd Amendment, its time Iowa ensure the rights of individuals to own firearms by adopting a state equivalent of the 2nd Amendment to the Iowa Constitution,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

The US Supreme Court announced today that they would hear McDonald v Chicago, and review a lower court ruling that upheld a handgun ban in Chicago.

Iowa is only of only six states that do not provide constitutional protection for the right to keep and bear arms. The other states are California, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey.

“With the addition of Justice Sotomayor to the Court, defenders of the 2nd Amendment can no longer assume that it will be applied equally to state and local ordinances. Therefore, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment next year that would protect the right of all Iowans to keep and bear arms, and it will be part of my agenda as Governor,” added Rants.

###

RELEASE: Tax Refunds Delayed to "Balance the Budget"

Chris — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

September 25, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: Tax Refunds Delayed to “Balance the Budget”

“Governor Culver isn’t telling Iowans that $30 million in tax refunds that should have been paid in July and August were delayed so that he could close the books and declare the budget balanced. California at least had the courtesy to issue IOUs to taxpayers. Iowa just kept their money,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

The Revenue Estimating Conference projected over $70 million in anticipated refunds. Culver’s press release reports paying only $43.9 million in refunds. The Dept of Revenue paid the missing $30 million in refunds starting on September 2^nd after they stopped counting accruals. An examination of past years practice shows that corporate tax refunds of $24M and $30M were paid in July and August during FY 08 and FY 09; while this year only $8.5 M was paid. Yet in previous years $14M and $15M in refunds have been paid in September, while this year $44.6 M has been suddenly paid.

“There is no such thing as coincidence – not in electoral politics and budget gimmickry. They held the refunds to make things look better. That’s a dishonest way to balance the budget,” added Rants.

###

RELEASE: Rants Lists Questions Needing Answers at Film Office

Chris — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

September 23, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants Issues List of Questions for

IDED and IDORF Regarding

Film Office Tax Credits

“While much of the attention surrounding the scandal at the Iowa Film Office is surrounding how did a Mercedes and Range Rover get purchased – there are bigger questions that demand answers. This morning I submitted ten questions and requests for information to the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Revenue and Finance,” said Rants My concern is the impact to taxpayers and Culver’s budget deficit.” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“There is plenty of time to assign blame and point fingers later. Today the focus needs to be on what happens next, and the impact this will have on the FY 09, FY 10 and FY 11 budgets. The books haven’t been closed on last year’s budget yet, and we already know this year started out in a hole. What I want to know is how much more will have to be cut from the budget because of Culver’s lack of oversight.”

A Taxpayer’s List of Questions and Requests for Information for Governor Culver and the Iowa Department of Economic Development Regarding the Iowa Film Tax Credit

Provide a list of tax credit certificates issued prior to July 1, 2009 with the amount in which they were issued. The names of the recipients may be redacted.

Provide a list of tax credit certificates issued after July 1, 2009 with the amount in which they were issued.

If the REC assumed the amount of tax credits for FY 09 was $18 M, and the credits issued prior to July 1 exceeds that amount; how will this impact the ability of the state to close the books on the FY 09 fiscal year? Will adjustments be made and how?

If the cap of $50M of tax credits issued after July 1 for FY 10 was exceeded, and this is the number built into the budget and revenue estimate, how will the Governor reduce the general fund budget to put it back into balance?

Have tax credit certificates been awarded for FY 2011 and beyond? If so, how much of the $250M five-year cap ($50M each year for 5 years) has been awarded?

How many tax credit certificates have been sold to third parties and reported to the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance?

How are the tax credit certificates authenticated? Are copies kept at the IDED or the IDORF?

Can the IDED or the IDORF provide a list of Iowa banks that provided loans to film companies based on the award of the tax credit certificate?

Why was an independent audit done rather than using the office of the Iowa State Auditor?

How many credit certificates have been redeemed to date? Does IDED or IDORF have a schedule of anticipated redemptions?

All of this information should be publicly available, though some names may be redacted as is customary with disclosure of the amount of Research and Development Tax Credits.

Calling Mike Blouin...

Chris — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is the worst possible time for Iowa to be without leadership at the Department of Economic Development. We have record unemployment and no sound development strategy in place.

Scandal at the film office, abrupt resignations, investigations looming....

Governor Culver needs to take charge this week and secure the appointment of a top notch economic development professional or business leader to come in and right the ship.

Let me say this again - top notch - professional - this week.

The Governor needs to break his tradition of delay - he needs to act now to restore confidence.

Here's a place to start - call Mike Blouin. He'd restore confidence and knows how to do the job. Too much bad blood from their primary? Call Debi Durham. Ooops, she's a Republican. Ok then, find another professional developer or business leader. There are plenty of Chamber of Commerce types around the state.

The problem with getting a top notch person to take the job will be that every fiber of their being will be screaming in opposition to the Culver legislative agenda of killing Right to Work, passing Doctor Shopping, Prevailing Wage, and raising income taxes. To get a great person to manage the Dept Culver will have to do one of two things - dump his legislative priorities, or take the muzzle of DED and let him or her speak their mind about what it will take to get this state growing. Its unlikely he'll drop his union buddies in an election year, so I'd settle for a DED Director who is allowed to tell the truth.

I know, I know, what am I doing giving Culver advice when I am running against him? Its for the good of the state. We have over 100,000 Iowans unemployed and looking for work. We need leadership now - it can't wait until next November.

RELEASE: Rants Issues Tax Challenge

Chris — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

September 21, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712)274-8874

Rants Issues Tax Challenge

To Gubernatorial Candidates

“As Iowa’s state budget situation continues to worsen, the public deserves to know how candidates for governor intend to put it right. The last two times state government had a significant deficit, the sales tax was raised and the list of things subject to sales tax was expanded. That is why I challenge my fellow candidates running for governor to pledge to veto any attempt to raise the sales tax, expand its base, or redirect the school infrastructure tax into the general fund,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“We should not repeat the mistakes of the past, but live within our means. I would hope my fellow Republicans, and Governor Culver would join me in taking this pledge, but I caution them not to do so lightly. The magnitude of budget deficit is unprecedented. It will not be easy to balance the budget, and Iowans should expect that there will be pain. But I believe to close the budget gap with more tax revenue will only make our economic condition worse.”

Rants initially issued his challenge this weekend at the Poweshiek County GOP Town Hall Forum, however all candidates were not present. He will again issue the challenge this evening in Mt. Pleasant, Tuesday in Pella, and Wednesday in Ames.

###

Iowa Family Policy Council Forum

Chris — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Last Saturday night the Iowa Family Policy Council held a candidates forum for those of us running for Governor. They posted Youtube videos of it yesterday.

Culver Needs to Call a Special Session

Chris — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

July 1, 2009 | For Immediate Release
Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: Call a Special Session to Balance the Budget

SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants made the following statement today in response to the numbers released by the Department of Revenue and Finance on tax receipts collected for the fiscal year.

“Governor Culver has allowed the budget mess to become far too problematic for him to handle on his own – we have gone from having a projected deficit to an actual deficit. He needs to call the Legislature back for a special session to balance the budget. He then needs to ask the Legislature to reduce the budget for the coming year by an equal amount.

“Everyone in the state has seen this day coming, except for Governor Culver. Taxpayers and local governments cannot afford a ‘wait and see’ approach any longer. Action is needed now.

“It is time to quit worrying about the political ramifications of admitting that we have a deficit and get about the business of fixing it. Governor Vilsack put aside partisan politics and called a special session in 2001 and 2002 to balance the budget after revenues declined; Culver needs to do the same.

###