Week 15 of the session was a short week. We debated bills on Wednesday and Thursday in the House. Many of the bills we debated were bills that were amended in the Senate earlier in the week and sent back to the House for consideration. House File 317, a bill that I filed known as the ...
After completing the second “funnel” where Senate bills have to be passed through a House committee to remain active, we are now entering a phase of the session where budget work is more intense in the Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees, and floor action is more sporadic. This ...
If you ate today, filled up your gas tank, or got dressed – you have a farmer to thank. Last week we celebrated National Agriculture Week, and the whole country rightly spotlighted the farmers and ranchers who feed and fuel the world. But saying thank you is far from enough – the best ...
The legislature continues to bring bills to the floor and pass House bills to the Senate and Senate bills to the Governor’s desk. Two significant bills signed into law this week by the governor were the “Bathroom Bill” that prohibits persons from using the facilities that don’t ...
The last two years have been full of changes for me - both huge and incremental. Many of my readers have accompanied me on my journey, and for that I’m forever grateful. It’s been fraught with grief, and sadness and even, at times, despair. And then again, hope and growth. But ...
Have you ever lost something and cannot find it? Most assuredly, as soon as I buy a new pair of socks, one of the pairs comes up missing in the wash. I rummage through all the clothes thinking it was hung up in the armpit of a hoodie or static clinging to the back of a dress shirt, but ...
My husband and I raised our kids in the land of hockey. This column is not about hockey. I realize hockey isn’t a thing or perhaps not as popular in some (warmer) climates, but for many years, for us, hockey was a large part of life. If nothing else, it got us through the cold ...
This week we entered into the Debate phase of the session, sending bills to the Senate and a few to the governor’s desk. This week, Iowa House Republicans passed Senate File 75 to establish licensure in Iowa for Rural Emergency Hospitals. This bill was a priority bill for the Republican ...
“Just the facts, ma’am,” was the infamous introductory phrase Sgt. Joe Friday would use this when interrogating a witness in the whodunit TV series Dragnet. Jack Webb (1920-1982) played Sgt. Friday during Dragnet’s 1951-1959 lifespan. Dragnet’s civil servant show often dealt with ...
It's been a busy first month of session and we've gotten a lot of feedback from Iowans. While vouchers have dominated the communications we've received from constituents so far, we've gotten a lot of feedback on other issues like property taxes, medical malpractice, and book bans. If there is ...