We have two weeks to go in this session. There is so much to do and so far to go. The House and Senate are miles apart on both policy and appropriation bills. Some of the policy bills include social statements of the House and will not be addressed by the Senate. The only one which could be ...
Greetings from under the Golden Dome! We are slowly coming to the close of the 2011 Iowa Legislative Session. Much work is left to be done on the appropriations bills. Compromises must be reached between the House, Senate, and Governor. How long we remain in Des Moines will be determined by ...
TAMA NEWS-HERALD -Once every decade, Iowa’s political landscape changes – and sometimes the shifts can be pretty dramatic. That time has come once again. It is time to re-draw Iowa’s congressional districts (four total), State Senate districts (50 total) and Iowa House districts (100 ...
Greetings from under the golden dome!! A couple of bills of interest that we are studying ---- Iowa is the undisputed national leader in livestock production. Our economy has, without a doubt, weathered many of the more severe economic downturns experienced by other states because of a strong ...
Greetings from Des Moines as a busy week goes by! This week is the first funnel week; the point in time where the Iowa Legislature begins to narrow their work load. We started the week with over 140 bills. These bills were sponsored by our members and ended up still languishing in committee, ...
Last Friday morning at 6:04 a.m. the House Labor committee passed HSB 117. Debate began the previous day at 5 p.m. after already having met for two hours earlier in the day. Democrats offered over fifty amendments, which resulted in the debate on the bill taking over 14 hours. HSB 117 reforms ...
Greetings from under the golden dome! While we continue to lack for much floor debate in the senate, we are rapidly approaching “the funnel.” Next week is funnel week. That is when we have agreed, through rules’ that all bills other than appropriations must come out of committee to be ...
The Iowa House of Representatives passed a historic bill yesterday, Feb. 16. If HF194 becomes law, it would be the first time since 1997 that significant tax relief has been given to Iowans. With 106,000 people unemployed in our state and the Tax Foundation’s 2011 State Business Tax Climate ...
Greetings from Des Moines! As week six winds down here in the Iowa Senate, we are finally beginning some substantive debate. Last night the Senate passed the 2% allowable growth rate for school districts. The House version was 0%, as was the Governor’s recommendation. So I am sure this one ...
Greetings from under the golden dome in Des Moines. One bill per week. That’s the average pace of debate in the Iowa Senate after five weeks of session. As we get ever closer to the halfway point of the 2011 session, the Iowa Senate is becoming known more for what it has not done– than ...