Relating to and making appropriations and related statutory changes involving state government entities involved with agriculture, natural resources, and environmental protection

GENERAL. This bill relates to agriculture and natural resources by making appropriations for the fiscal year 2021-2022 to support related entities, including the department of agriculture and land stewardship (DALS), the department of natural resources (DNR), and Iowa state university (ISU), and the university of Iowa (UI). The bill primarily appropriates moneys to DALS and DNR. The appropriations are made to support those departments for administration, regulation, and support of programs. The bill requires the departments to submit quarterly reports to the general assembly and department of management regarding the expenditure of appropriated moneys. The bill also provides moneys to support specific programs or projects administered by those departments. The bill appropriates moneys from a number of sources, including the general fund of the state (general fund), the state fish and game protection fund, the groundwater protection fund, and the environment first fund (EFF). Appropriations are made from a number of sources to support the water quality initiative (WQI). The bill is organized into divisions. DALS —— GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS. The bill appropriates moneys to DALS from the general fund in order to support its administrative divisions, including consumer protection and industry services, soil conservation, and food safety and animal health. Moneys are transferred to ISU to support its midwest grape and wine institute. DALS —— MISCELLANEOUS FUNDS —— DESIGNATED APPROPRIATIONS. The bill appropriates moneys from several sources to support a number of designated purposes, including moneys derived from unclaimed winnings from horse and dog races, for administration and enforcement of racing regulations; and moneys credited to the renewable fuel infrastructure fund, for purposes of regulating motor fuel. DALS —— SPECIAL GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS. The bill makes special appropriations from the general fund to DALS in order to support specific purposes including milk inspection, the local food and farm program, an agricultural education organization, foreign animal disease preparedness, assistance to farmers with disabilities, projects associated with unique natural resources in western and southern counties, grain regulation, and a value added agriculture grant program. DALS —— GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS —— WATER QUALITY. The bill appropriates moneys from the general fund to DALS for deposit in the water quality initiative fund, to support the WQI including high-priority watershed projects. DNR —— GENERAL FUND AND OTHER MAJOR FUNDS APPROPRIATIONS. The bill makes appropriations from a number of funds to DNR in order to support its administrative divisions involving natural resources and environmental protection from the general fund, the state fish and game protection fund, and the groundwater protection fund. DNR —— MISCELLANEOUS FUNDS —— DESIGNATED APPROPRIATIONS. The bill appropriates moneys to DNR from a number of sources to support designated purposes, including moneys deposited in the special snowmobile fund to provide for administering and enforcing the state snowmobile programs; and moneys deposited in the unassigned revenue fund for purposes of paying for administration of DNR’s underground storage tanks section. DNR —— SPECIAL GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS. The bill makes special appropriations from the general fund to DNR in order to support specific purposes including floodplain management, dam safety and forestry health management programs. ISU —— SPECIAL GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS. The bill appropriates moneys from the general fund to ISU to support the operation of its veterinary diagnostic laboratory and livestock disease research. UI —— SPECIAL GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS. The bill makes appropriations from the general fund to UI to support the operations of Iowa’s center for agricultural safety and health which is part of UI’s college of public health. DALS, DNR, AND UI —— EFF —— GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS. The bill appropriates moneys from the EFF to support a number of programs administered by DALS, DNR, and UI. For DALS, the moneys are appropriated to support programs involving soil conservation, watershed protection and nutrient management, and the loess hills development and conservation fund. For DNR, moneys are appropriated to support programs involving state parks, geographic information systems, water quality monitoring, public water supplies, regulation of animal feeding operations, air quality, and floodplain management and dam safety. For UI, moneys are appropriated to support the Iowa geological survey. The bill includes provisions that delay the reversion of these moneys. EFF —— SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR WQI. The bill appropriates moneys from the EFF to the water quality initiative fund subject to the same conditions applicable to moneys appropriated to the fund from the general fund. IOWA RESOURCES ENHANCEMENT AND PROTECTION (REAP) FUND —— EFF APPROPRIATION IN LIEU OF GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATION. An amount of moneys is appropriated from the EFF to the REAP fund instead of the $20 million otherwise required to be appropriated to the fund from the general fund. Notwithstanding the standing allocation from the REAP fund to the open spaces account, DNR may use moneys in the account for state park maintenance and repair. CODE CHANGES. The Iowa geological survey is required to adopt and revise a long-range budget plan for each five-year fiscal period, which describes how moneys available or expected to be available to the survey for each fiscal year of that planning period are to be expended.