http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2004/03/12/news/regional/43cf8d61ec90b34786256e55001d9cc4.txtDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Republican legislative leaders said Thursday they will release budget plans early next week that include no tax increases and will likely result in state employee and teacher layoffs.
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The Legislature's school funding bill vetoed by Gov. Tom Vilsack included a $65 million increase in basic funding and $44 million to replace across-the-board cuts made last year, putting total school spending in 2005 at $1.9 billion.
Vilsack, a Democrat, said it wasn't enough money and Republican lawmakers refused to work on negotiating an alternative funding bill.
With the veto, the law allows for an automatic increase in basic school funding of $47.1 million and automatically restores last year's budget cuts at $45.4 million, if no additional action is taken.
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Democratic lawmakers were critical of Republicans for developing budget figures without input and said they were concerned about deep cuts or heavy use of cash reserves and one-time sources such as the Senior Living Trust Fund.
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