Des Moines, Iowa – 9 April 2008 – Today the Iowa House of
Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation to provide greatly increased
funding to Iowa’s waterways, land, wildlife and parks.
The legislation to allow Iowans to vote on a constitutional
amendment to create the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund
passed the House 87 to 10. It passed the
Senate earlier in the session.
“We are very pleased with the House’s action today and thank
the leadership for bringing the bill to a vote.
Iowa will finally be able to begin to address its water pollution problems
and improve its trails, parks and wildlife habitat,” said Andrew Hug of
Environment Iowa.
The trust fund is designed to address a broad array of environmental
needs in the state with water quality a highest priority. The fund will provide money to cities and
counties for trails, parks and habitat.
It will fund soil erosion control efforts through the Iowa Department of
Agriculture and Land Stewardship. It
will fund several programs to solve Iowa’s water pollution problems through the
Department of Natural Resources. It will
also fund programs that create habitat for game and non-game animal species.
“By establishing this fund through the difficult process
demanded for constitutional amendments, we protect it from being siphoned off
for non-environmental purposes by future legislatures,” said Hug. “In the past, during budget crunches,
environmental and outdoor recreation programs are first to be cut. This constant uncertainty over funding means
the agencies cannot properly and efficiently plan their work. Programs are halted and Iowa’s waterways
remain among the most polluted in the nation as a result. This fund will create a large, reliable
source of dollars to invest in improving Iowa’s environment. “
The legislation needs to be passed by the legislature again
in 2009 and then it can appear on the ballot in November 2010.
