Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack released his balanced budget on Wednesday asking for $144 million in budget cuts and seeking $120 million from the state’s economic emergency account.

With other minor cuts, this brings the total budget cuts and revenue adjustments to $285 million, or 6 percent of the state’s general budget fund.

The cuts will affect 400 to 600 state workers with layoffs, which will begin when the fiscal year 2002 begins on July 1.

“At this point we have an economic emergency,” said Sen. Johnie Hammond, D-Ames. “We did not think [the cuts] would be this drastic even a month ago. There are some economic downturns that are much stronger than predicted.”

The governor’s budget cuts are calling for a $40 million reduction to the state Board of Regent’s budget, and will affect Iowa State with a $16.1 million cut to the general university funds.

Hammond said funds other than state appropriations make up approximately 36.2 percent of the regent institutions’ budgets. She said other means will be used to maximize other resources, which means a possible tuition increase.

The governor is fully funding salary increases for the regent’s budget, Hammond said.

Untouched by these cuts, she said, will be K-12 education and the $40 million proposed K-12 teacher salary increase. However, Hammond said some areas that were not expected to see cuts will experience them, such as the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The governor cut the budget 6 percent across the board, but Hammond said the governor did not want to harm children in the state, so he opted to protect the K-12 educational system.

“What the governor has done is proposed $120 million [from the economic emergency account],” Hammond said. “This protects the allowable growth for K-12 and protects tax credits for counties.”

She said this doesn’t mean schools and counties won’t experience economic hardships, but they will not be as severe.

Rep. Barbara Finch, R-Ames, said she is uncomfortable with the governor taking money from the economic emergency account.

“I need to know our projections for funding for the next few years,” she said. “Are we coming up with more funding options?”

When it comes to funding for students, Finch said the funding break down will be K-12 with $5,300 per student, community college with $2,900 per student and university funding with over $11,000 per student.

“I feel sorry for the community colleges,” she said. “I think about what the K-12 teachers get paid . we shouldn’t cut there (community colleges).”

The governor’s measure is hitting him as well, Hammond said. She said the governor put into the budget cuts a proposal to decrease the lieutenant governor’s and governor’s salaries.

“I wish he wouldn’t do that, I think it is a meaningless gesture,” she said. “It represents a little amount of money, his job is worth that much.”