Mental Health Funding Shift Needs More Discussion, Iowa House Leader Says

JOHNSTON — Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley on Friday said shifting funding for mental health care services from local property taxes to the state’s general fund is more complicated than just the funding mechanism.Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, said House GOP lawmakers feel the discussion should include not just the funding but also how that money is spent by providers.“I think that issue is much bigger than just taking over the local (property tax) levy that exists,” Grassley said during the taping of “Iowa Press” at Iowa PBS studios.“We want to provide property tax relief any time we can do that, but I always remind everyone that the way the current system is set up, we would be basically writing the check without having any — very little, if any — input on how the money was spent on the back end.”The Republican-led Iowa Senate this week approved legislation that would, in phases, shift the funding for the state’s regional mental health care system to the state.