Senator Tim Kapucian R-Keystone

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 will go to Conference Committee to straighten out the details. As I write this, we are beginning to debate HF 45, the Taxpayers First Act. This bill’s intent was to offer cuts in state government, but, here in the Senate, there is a “strike after amendment” that waters the bill down so that little impact will be accomplished. So far, all votes are going right down party lines and any savings intended from HF 45 will be minimal. Our job now is to painstakingly re-introduce savings, one point at a time, and hope some of them will be accepted.

Last Saturday, we held the first of three, in a series of ten, meetings across the state to listen to public comment on state rules and regulations that have little positive or even negative impact on the daily lives of Iowans. The early results are in. Iowans have many areas of concern and are becoming more and more engaged in the process called State Government.

Employers – both small and large, entrepreneurs, farmers, city administrators and others have increasingly been subjected to overly burdensome rules and regulations that have been promulgated by state government agencies.

The way some state bureaucrats have been interpreting both federal and state law has created an unfair regulatory climate which is inconsistent with interpretations of federal law in other states.

Many of these rules and regulations have significantly raised costs and many employers are leaving Iowa or choosing to expand elsewhere as a result of the undue regulatory costs and burdens imposed by the government.

We believe government should not be punishing the very people we need to grow this state and create jobs. We need to have reasonable and responsible levels of rules and regulations that protect the public interest without placing an undue burden on our job creators, cities and taxpayers.

Though the first three stops were well-received, we are planning stops in eight more communities in the coming weeks: They include:

Saturday, Feb. 26 1 – 3 p.m. – Cedar Falls Hurst Center for Arts,304 W Seerley Blvd.,

Special Guest: Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds

Saturday, March 12, 9 – 11 a.m. – Cedar Rapids CRST International,1332 Edgewood Road SW

As always, I welcome your questions and comments. Thank you for letting me represent you at the Capitol.

Please feel free to contact me: tim.kapucian@legis.state.ia.us or 515 281-3371.

See you out and about District 20.

Senator Tim Kapucian

Tama, Grundy, Benton and

Iowa counties