DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) -- Gov.-elect Terry Branstad says his first priority is to put together a spending plan to begin shrinking state government by 15 percent over five years.
In an interview with The Des Moines Register on Wednesday, the former four-term governor says he plans to save millions by filling only the minimum of more than 2,000 state positions vacated by early retirement in June.
Leaders in the new split-party Legislature say the idea has merit.
However, Senate Democrats vow to block another priority of the incoming Republican governor - a two-year budget. Branstad has said a biennial budget would provide more stability in planning.
Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal, of Council Bluffs, says it would give Branstad too much control over too much money.
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