Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 8.39 (2026)

Use of appropriations — transfer

✓ current as of July 2026

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1. Except as otherwise provided by law, an appropriation or any part of it shall not be used for any other purpose than that for which it was made. However, with the prior written consent and approval of the governor and the director of the department of management, the governing board or head of any state department, institution, or agency may, at any time during the fiscal year, make a whole or partial intradepartmental transfer of its unexpended appropriations for purposes within the scope of such department, institution, or agency. Such transfer shall be to an appropriation made from the same funding source and within the same fiscal year. The amount of a transfer made from an appropriation under this subsection shall be limited to not more than one-tenth of one percent of the total of all appropriations made from the funding source of the transferred appropriation for the fiscal year in which the transfer is made.

2. If the appropriation of a department, institution, or agency is insufficient to properly\n\nTue Dec 09 22:34:24 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 8 (112, 1) 19 DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT — BUDGET AND FINANCIAL CONTROL ACT, §8.40\n\nmeet the legitimate expenses of the department, institution, or agency, the director, with the approval of the governor, may make an interdepartmental transfer from any other department, institution, or agency of the state having an appropriation in excess of its needs, of sufficient funds to meet that deficiency. Such transfer shall be to an appropriation made from the same funding source and within the same fiscal year. The amount of a transfer made from an appropriation under this subsection shall be limited to not more than one-tenth of one percent of the total of all appropriations made from the funding source of the transferred appropriation for the fiscal year in which the transfer is made. An interdepartmental transfer to an appropriation which is not an entitlement appropriation is not authorized when the general assembly is in regular session and, in addition, the sum of interdepartmental transfers in a fiscal year to an appropriation which is not an entitlement appropriation shall not exceed fifty percent of the amount of the appropriation as enacted by the general assembly. For the purposes of this subsection, an entitlement appropriation is a line item appropriation to the state public defender for indigent defense or to the department of health and human services for foster care, state supplementary assistance, medical assistance, or for the family investment program.

3. The aggregate amount of intradepartmental and interdepartmental transfers made from all appropriations for a fiscal year pursuant to this section is limited to not more than five-tenths of one percent of the total amount of the appropriations made from the general fund of the state for the fiscal year. The aggregate amount of the intradepartmental and interdepartmental transfers made from an appropriation for a fiscal year is limited to fifty percent of the appropriation.

4. Prior to any transfer of funds pursuant to subsection 1 or 2 of this section or a transfer of an allocation from a subunit of a department which statutorily has independent budgeting authority, the director shall notify the chairpersons of the standing committees on appropriations of the senate and the house of representatives and the chairpersons of subcommittees of such committees of the proposed transfer. The notice from the director shall include information concerning the amount of the proposed transfer, the departments, institutions, or agencies affected by the proposed transfer and the reasons for the proposed transfer. Chairpersons notified shall be given at least two weeks to review and comment on the proposed transfer before the transfer of funds is made.

5. a. Any transfer made under the provisions of this section shall be reported to the legislative fiscal committee on a monthly basis. The report shall cover each calendar month and shall be due the tenth day of the following month. The report shall contain the following:

(1) The amount of each transfer.

(2) The date of each transfer.

(3) The departments and funds affected.

(4) A brief explanation of the reason for the transfer.

(5) Such other information as may be required by the committee.

b. A summary of all transfers made under the provisions of this section shall be included in the annual report of the legislative fiscal committee. [C97, §187; SS15, §170-q; C24, 27, 31, §345; C35, §84-a3; C39, §84.32; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §8.39] 86 Acts, ch 1245, §2022; 87 Acts, ch 115, §5; 94 Acts, ch 1181, §6; 94 Acts, ch 1199, §44; 2011 Acts, ch 117, §2 – 4; 2017 Acts, ch 54, §7; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §6; 2023 Acts, ch 64, §3 Referred to in §8.55, 8.62, 16.57A, 24.24, 80.42, 125.44, 218.6, 249A.26, 261E.13, 284.13, 307.46, 313.5\n\n 8.39A Transfer of moneys or positions — changes in tables of organization — notification. Repealed by 2001 Acts, 2nd Ex, ch 2, §12, 13. \n

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases, 1983–2012 · leading case: Rush v. Ray, 362 N.W.2d 479 (Iowa 1985).

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Rush v. Ray, 362 N.W.2d 479 (Iowa 1985). · cites it 40× “We are not unmindful that the Governor maintains the stricken language merely "sought to override Iowa Code section 8.39, an independent subject of legislative concern that possessed only a figurative relationship with the subject of appropriation.”

Welsh v. Branstad, 470 N.W.2d 644 (Iowa 1991). · cites it 6× “33 should be viewed differently than provisions restricting transfer of funds pursuant to Iowa Code § 8.39 . 4 . This is particularly true in light of the affidavits filed in resistance to the motion for summary judgment.”

Rush v. Ray, 332 N.W.2d 325 (Iowa 1983). · cites it 2× “The transfers would otherwise be authorized by Iowa Code § 8.39 (1981). We previously ruled on the governor’s item veto power in Welden v.”

Danny Homan, William A. Dotzler, Jr., Bruce Hunter, David Jacoby, Kirsten Running-Marquardt, & Daryl Beall v. Terry E. Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, 812 N.W.2d 623 (Iowa 2012). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 8.39 (2011). Like the provisions in Rush , section 20 is an appropriately tailored “outgrowth of the legislature’s power to appropriate funds.”

Johnson v. Carlson, 507 N.W.2d 232 (Minn. 1993). “There, Iowa Code § 8.39 authorized the governor to transfer funds from one department or agency to another.”

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