(Radio Iowa) – Sixty Republicans in the Iowa House have given final legislative approval to a bill outlining state spending for administrative and regulatory agencies. One Republican and 34 Democrats in the House voted against the plan. Representative Megan Srinivas, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the bill provides a nearly 22 percent increase in the budget for the governor’s office.

“There’s an unprecedented half a million dollars that is completely unearmarked that we are giving to the governor’s office with no answers as to how that money is needed or needs to be spent,” Srinivas says. A spokesman for Governor Kim Reynolds says the money will be used to recruit and retain staff in the governor’s office. Representative Michael Bergen, a Republican from Dorchester, says the governor and her staff are implementing a major reorganization of state government and the budget for Reynolds’ office is smaller than governor’s offices in states of similar size, like Utah and Kentucky.

“So I fully support the governor’s ask and feel that it’s merited,” Bergen says. Several budget bills were passed in the House and Senate Tuesday, with more on today’s (Wednesday’s) docket.