District 53 Newsletter Feb. 2, 2023, from Rep. Dean Fisher

Dean Fisher (R-Montour)
Week 4 of the session was a “normal” week, we continue to move bills through committee, and we began debating many non-controversial bills on the floor.
This week, the Iowa House Education and Appropriations Committees passed a bill to increase Supplemental State Aid (SSA) for our Public Schools funding by 3%. This increase amounts to $106.8 million more than Fiscal Year 2023, and a total of about $3.7 billion to School Foundation Aid. It would bring per pupil funding to $7635 per student, an increase of $222 over FY 2023. As they always do, Democrats will say Republicans are underfunding public education. But Republicans are responsible for record-high education investments over the last decade. K-12 education funding has increased by almost a billion new dollars over the last 10 years. The last time education funding was actually cut, was when Democrats had the trifecta in 2010.
One of the bills I have filed this session is House Joint Resolution 2 which seeks to amend the Iowa Constitution to provide protection for our right to Hunt, Fish, and Trap wildlife. Similar amendments have been passed in many other states over the past few years and I hope to add Iowa to the list. The text of the amendment states “1. The people of this state have the right to hunt, fish, trap, and harvest wildlife, including by the use of traditional methods, subject to reasonable laws enacted by the general assembly and reasonable rules adopted by the natural resource commission that promote wildlife conservation and management, that maintain natural resources in trust for public use, and that preserve the future of hunting, fishing, trapping, and harvesting wildlife. 2. Public hunting, fishing, trapping, and harvesting of wildlife shall be a preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife. 3. This section shall not be construed to modify any provision of law relating to eminent domain, trespass, property rights, or water resources.” A subcommittee will consider the bill today, Thursday, and I anticipate it being sent to the full Judiciary committee for consideration.
I have also filed House File 190 which seeks to strike Gender Identity from the list of protected classes in the Iowa Civil Rights code. Gender Identity was added in 2007 when the Democrats controlled the legislature and governor’s office. Recently we have seen numerous abuses of the rights of other citizens with Gender Identity being used to justify these abuses. The abuses include males participating in women’s sports, and “transgender” persons using the bathrooms and showers of the opposite sex. Without action I am certain the abuses will worsen.
I love to see constituents down at the capitol, if you plan on visiting during session please let me know so that we can meet.