In the Senate:We are already in week five and busy with committee work. We are coming up on our first funnel week. This means all bills need to be through committee in order to be considered for the rest of the legislative session. The only exceptions to the funnel are oversight, appropriations ...
A public notice published by the government is not really publicOnce a year, all local governments in Iowa are required to publish a public notice in a newspaper listing the salaries of every one of their employees.Anyone who thinks public notices aren't important or aren't read by the average ...
Iowa has the largest Pay Gap in the nation. The Pay Gap is calculated using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which gives the average annual wage of a state-government worker and the average annual wage of a private-sector worker for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our study ...
Editor's Note; This is a new legislative column submitterd by State Senator Jeff Edler (R-State?Center) who was elected in November, 2106, to Iowa Senate Seat 36 representing Tama, Marshall and a portion of southeastern Black Hawk counties.In the Legislature:We passed three bills out of the ...
This year maybe more than any other year, we need an official day to just say, "I love you." Politics has taken center stage for the past couple of years it seems and Facebook is such an impersonal place to espouse one's feelings, frustration, beliefs and yes, even anger. So as we lead up to ...
I was blessed to grow up in rural Iowa as a youth. Unfortunately, I did not fully appreciate how lucky I was. I remember reading about far off exotic places and wanted to travel and live in different countries and experience different cultures. After all, in my view, not much was happening in ...
The Wieting Guild has a problem that we need the public to help us solve. We are in need of more volunteers for the movies. Are you available and willing to help? Would you like to sell tickets, monitor the movie, or help sell drinks, popcorn and candy?If you are willing to help, we donate a ...
The energy level in the Capitol continues to increase as more bills make their way through subcommittees and committees. I expect this session to be marked by more spirited debate than in past years because of the opportunities that arise with both chambers and the governor's office being ...
On Monday, January 9, 2017, the legislative leaders gaveled in the start of the 87th General Assembly, which marks the first time in 20 years that Republicans control the House, Senate, and the Governor's office. All eyes are on Des Moines to see if the gridlock we have had for the last few ...
Q: Why are you co-sponsoring an amendment requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget?A: The founders authorized a federal amendment process with Article V of the U.S. Constitution to give future generations a stake in our system of self-government. Arguably, the future of our republic is at ...