The 2019 legislative session concluded in April with several bills affecting Iowa State University. We are grateful for the resources the legislature committed to Iowa State and we thank you for your support through Alliance for Iowa State.
Most significantly, legislators allocated a $12 million increase to the Board of Regents for FY20 that begins July 1, 2019. This amount falls short of the Board's request for a $18 million increase. The $12 million will be dispersed among the Regents institutions. The Board's next meeting is June 4-6.
The $6 million shortage continues the trend of underfunding public higher education. This impacts our ability to ensure that a high quality Iowa State education remains accessible, and that high quality faculty and staff are recruited and retained. Underfunding also makes it more difficult to provide educational spaces that are safe and conducive to learning.
The legislature took the following action on special initiative requests.
Of the $4 million requested to establish a bioscience innovation ecosystem, the legislature allocated $825,000 to Iowa State University and $275,000 to University of Iowa for FY20 to establish a Bioscience Development Corporation for expanding bioscience-based economic development opportunities in the state of Iowa. The corporation will further the overall development and economic well-being of the state.
The state appropriated $300,000 of Iowa State's requested $410,000 increase for operations at ISU's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Adequate funding for the new facility is crucial in order to effectively respond to large-scale outbreaks that can be extremely harmful to Iowa's economy.
Appropriations for agriculture experiment station, cooperative extension services, and livestock disease research remain steady.
The Governor is expected to take action on the legislation in the coming weeks.
With your support, we will continue to help our elected officials understand that re-investing in our land grant university - Iowa State University - is an investment in the future of Iowa.
