Friday is the official closing day of the Iowa Legislature

Friday is the targeted day for adjournment of the Iowa State Legislature.  But State Representative Roger Thomas of Elkader notes the legislature rarely adjourns on the exact day set by the Iowa Constitution.

Even so, there still is not final agreement between the House, Senate, and Governor on the state budget and other major issues.

Thomas has been serving on the conference committee on commercial property tax reform.  He says there is a wide gulf right now between the House and the Senate: "The Senate has approved a $250 million tax relief plan targeted to small, Main Street businesses while the House wants a huge tax reform plan outside of commercial property taxes that costs $2 billion and isn't sustainable for the state in the long run."

It is unclear how quickly things will be resolved.  The conference committees will continue meeting and the House and Senate leaders will have to work with the Governor to find common ground on the big issues like property taxes, education reform, and affordable health care.