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A majority of Iowans would like to see a three-eighths of a cent sales tax increase to fund water quality and outdoor recreation projects, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.

The poll’s findings come as Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has pushed this year to raise the state’s sales tax by a full penny to fund water quality efforts, boost state funding for mental health and cut income and property taxes to offset the sales tax increase.

But early Tuesday, the Iowa Legislature suspended its session for 30 days in response to the spread of coronavirus in the state, adding uncertainty to whether lawmakers will approve the sweeping measure this year.

Under a constitutional amendment passed by Iowans in 2010, the next time the state raises its sales tax, the first three-eighths of a cent must go toward a fund designated for water quality and outdoor recreation programs. Iowa has not raised its sales tax since then, so the fund has sat empty.

Fifty-seven percent of Iowans favor a three-eighths cent sales tax increase to fund those programs, while 37% oppose such an increase and 6% aren't sure, the poll found.

Those numbers are similar to when the question was last asked in an Iowa Poll, in February 2017. In that poll, 56% of Iowans favored the sales tax increase, 38% opposed it and 5% weren't sure.

The new poll of 800 Iowa adults was conducted from March 2-5 by Selzer & Co. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Support for the increase is highest among self-identified Democrats, at 76%, with 20% of Democrats opposed and 4% not sure. Support is lowest among Republicans, with 44% in favor, 49% opposed and 7% not sure. Fifty-nine percent of independents favor the increase, with 36% opposed and 5% not sure.

Mary Kay Midtlyng, a 61-year-old poll respondent from West Des Moines, favors a sales tax increase. She said putting money into water quality is a positive thing for the state.

“How can it not be a good idea?” she said. “Even if it doesn’t have anything to do with recreation, how can you not want to spend money on clean water?”

Iowans were more divided on whether they would favor a 1-cent increase in the sales tax, as Reynolds has proposed, and offsetting the increase with other tax cuts.

Thirty-eight percent of Iowans favor passing a 1-cent increase and using all the revenue to pay for government services. That’s more than the 26% who want to see a sales tax increase offset by other tax cuts. About one in three, or 30%, say they do not want the sales tax raised by 1 cent, and 6% aren't sure under that scenario.

Tom Kinton, a 56-year-old poll respondent from Ellston, said he’s a libertarian and opposes new taxes. He said he already pays real estate taxes that are intended to support municipal water systems.

“I don’t support the government doing things for us. I support us doing things for us," he said. "And so I’m philosophically, morally and ethically opposed to taxes, especially higher taxes and especially taxes for programs that would encroach on water rights.”

A January 2018 Iowa Poll asked whether Iowans would favor or oppose raising the state sales tax by 1 cent to pay for a combination of water quality projects and mental health services. The question did not offer an option for passing the increase with other tax offsets. That poll found 67% of Iowans favored raising the sales tax by 1 cent, 29% opposed it and 4% were not sure.

A 1-cent increase in the sales tax is projected to raise $540 million annually, with three-eighths of that going toward water quality and outdoor recreation programs.

Reynolds’ plan also calls for the state to pick up more of the tab for Iowa’s mental health services. She wants the state to pay about 70% of the estimated $135 million annual cost of the mental health program, with counties covering the remaining 30%. Currently, mental health services are largely funded by county property taxes; increasing the state’s share would allow counties to lower their levies.

Reynolds’ plan would also give Iowans a 10% state income tax cut across the board beginning in 2023.

Reynolds has been holding town hall meetings around Iowa to drum up support for the plan, which she calls the Invest in Iowa Act.

Republicans, who control the Iowa Legislature, have expressed some interest in the plan, especially in cutting taxes, but have said it’s likely the plan would have to change before it could win the Legislature’s approval. Earlier this month, lawmakers held a subcommittee meeting on the bill to take input from the public but did not advance the proposal further in the legislative process.

"We love some of the parts of her plan; we want to adjust some of those areas," Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said Thursday. "That’s a conversation we’ve had for several weeks now, and we’re going to continue to have, so we’re fully engaged with the governor hoping we can get something finalized this year."

Top lawmakers are unclear on what the 30-day pause in the legislative session will mean for the plan, as well as other priorities they were hoping to pass this year.

"Obviously we want to pass as much of the people’s business that we can. But all of that is to be determined on when we come back," Whitver said late Monday night.

Democrats have criticized aspects of the plan. They call the sales tax regressive and disagree with Reynolds’ proposal to change the formula determining how water quality projects would be funded. Her changes would mean about half the money earmarked for water quality through a sales tax increase would pay for existing programs, rather than using the full three-eighths of a cent to fund new water quality programs.

Midtlyng, the West Des Moines poll respondent, said she would support a 1-cent sales tax increase with or without an offset because she said Iowa is in trouble with its mental health system and needs to devote more money to it.

“As a former nurse, I see no difference between a mental health issue and a broken bone," she said. "They both need the appropriate, available care, and if we don’t have that, we’re not taking care of each other. I mean it’s that simple.”

In a separate poll question, mental health ranked the highest on a list of nine areas that respondents think deserve a much greater share of Iowans’ tax dollars. Eighty-four percent of Iowans say they believe mental health should receive a greater share of tax dollars, 11% say there should be no change, 2% say the state should spend a smaller share, and 3% aren't sure.

Rounding out the top five areas that Iowans think deserve a greater share of tax dollars: roads and bridges, 75%; K through 12 education, 72%; training workers for skilled jobs, 68%; and improving water quality, 62%.

Read our methodology.

About this poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted March 2-5, 2020, for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 800 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cellphone numbers supplied by Dynata. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex, and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent census data.

Questions based on the sample of 800 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, respectively. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to the Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

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