In the LegislatureWednesday was REC Day on the Hill and I was able to meet with REC members from our community. It was a great opportunity to catch up with friends in the REC industry. These electric cooperatives are owned by their members and governed by elected directors of the membership, ...
Newsletter for Thursday,March 23 Tuesday was Homeschool day at the capitol. The building was filled with Homeschooling families learning about their Capitol and their government. I had the pleasure of meeting with several families from Tama and Marshall counties in the House chamber. On ...
In the LegislatureOn Wednesday, March 15, Iowans recognized Canada Day at the Capitol. Andrew Leslie, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs for the Canadian Parliament visited the Iowa House and Senate, along with Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. Mr. Leslie spoke about the importance of ...
This was the ninth week of the legislative session. Last week was our first funnel week, meaning this week was full of debate on the Senate floor as we come up on more deadlines for bills.On Monday, we passed SF 258, SF 260, SF 296, SF 357, and SF 385 out of the Senate. All of these bills had ...
Newsletter for Thursday, March 9, 2017We have now moved to a period in the session where we spend considerable time in debate on bills that have passed committee. Most of the bills we pass are what we call "non con", meaning non-controversial. They normally pass unanimously, or very close to ...
In the LegislatureThis week was our first funnel week and it is one of the busiest weeks we have in the legislature. The first funnel week is when bills need to be through the committees of the originating chamber in order to be considered for the rest of this legislative session. If they do ...
Newsletter for Thursday, March 2, 2017This week is funnel week, when all individually filed bills need to be through the committee process to be eligible for floor action. This week is always a flurry of activity with many subcommittee meetings and long committee meetings considering bills.On ...
From Marshall and Tama County Farm Bureaus, Allen Burt and Rebecca Dostal, met with State Senator Jeff Edler (R-State Center) in the law library last week. -Photo provided
The last two weeks have been the most contentious in my 17 years in the Legislature.In just 10 days, Republican lawmakers and Governor Branstad unraveled Iowa's successful, bipartisan collective bargaining law. After watching the events unfold the last week and a half, what we've learned is ...
On Thursday the Iowa Legislature passed collective bargaining reforms for public sector employees. This legislation will update the existing Chapter 20 laws for Iowa public sector employees.The original goal of the legislation outlined was to provide flexibility for our local officials to meet ...