As Republicans and Democrats try to strike a bargain on Iowa’s cigarette tax, a bill introduced last week that would double the tax is at a standstill.

Because of the tax revenue’s links to education funding, the issue’s resolution may decide whether the Board of Regents enacts a supplemental tuition increase for 2005-06.

There have been some calls for as much as a $1 increase in the state’s tax for smokers, but Republicans have been hesitant to increase the tax at all. The new Republican-backed bill would increase the tax from 36 cents to 72 cents and use the extra income to reduce property taxes.

The bill has been held up by debate in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, co-chairman of the committee, said the committee is still studying the bill, although he expects debate on the Senate floor soon.

He said education priorities like early childhood education, public university funding and teachers’ salary increases need to be considered before an agreement is reached on a cigarette tax increase.

“We are still relying on a significant amount of one-time money for this budget,” Bolkcom said. “We need to balance this budget honestly and responsibly by bringing in some more revenue. This is especially true if we’re looking for property tax cuts.”

Bolkcom said only a slight amount of new revenue would come from the Republican proposal after tax cuts are considered — meaning there would not be enough money to fund education initiatives.

Senate Ways and Means Committee co-chairman Sen. Mark Zieman, R-Postville, said he is unaware of what Democrats will propose but said he does not support raising the cigarette tax to fund education.

“I understand that concern, but the only reason I would raise the tax is to fund health care,” Zieman said. “That’s why we want to take those monies off of the table and put them back into some sort of tax relief.”

Zieman said an unexpected budget surplus of $80 million from fiscal year 2005 will easily pay for education proposals — if they are a priority.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said the tax increase is not just about education.

“That kind of misses the mark, as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “The whole reason why we need a cigarette tax increase is to meet our Medicaid expenses. That will allow some of the general fund dollars to be freed up to be used for various education initiatives, including $40 million for the regents.”

The Board of Regents has requested a $40 million funding increase from the Legislature for Iowa’s three public universities and two special schools to help cap tuition increases and provide for faculty and salary increases.

Tuition rates, which rely on state funding, are slated for a 4 percent hike for the next academic year, a figure tied to the inflation rate. A supplemental increase could be adopted by the regents if the $40 million request is not met.

Quirmbach said he sees no logical connection between increasing taxes on cigarette smokers and decreasing the tax burden on property owners.

“However, I do see a logical connection for funding medical assistance because cigarettes add to our medical bill quite substantially, much more so than the amount of taxes they currently pay in,” Quirmbach said. “If we don’t have the cigarette money to do that, then we have to bleed money out of other programs, which would come down to bleeding money out of education.”

Iverson said he doesn’t share Democrats’ concerns about funding Medicaid.

“The Democrats have said that we need this to fund Medicaid, and we’ve proven that isn’t true,” Iverson said. “We’ve got Medicaid covered in our budget without a cigarette tax increase.”

Iverson, who earlier was against increasing the cigarette tax, said the Republican offer to double the tax is as far as he will go.