Senate stays focused in 2012

Prepared by the Senate Democratic Staff  (PFD)

Balancing the budget without raising taxes.

Iowa is expected to have a budget surplus of about $258 million when the current budget year ends on June 30. We also have $617.1 million in our reserve funds, the largest amount in state history. On top of that, we’re putting $60 million into the newly created Taxpayer Trust Fund.

Education and job training for a strong Iowa future.

• Reducing Iowa’s skilled worker shortage with $15 million in worker training to help Iowans qualify for skilled job openings at local businesses. Business leaders say this is the number one thing we can do to boost Iowa’s economy. (SF 2321, Education Budget)
• Keeping tuition affordable at our community colleges, state universities and private colleges so all Iowa families have the educational opportunities that lead to great jobs. (SF 2321, Education Budget)
• Providing $4.7 million for STEM—intensified science, technology, engineering and math education that helps build a high-quality Iowa workforce. (SF 2321, Education Budget)
• Ensuring Iowa kids are good readers by keeping class sizes small in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. Smaller classes give young students the one-on-one time they need with their teachers. A new statewide Iowa reading research center will spread the best practices for teaching reading. (HF 2465, Standings)
• Continuing our commitment to strong local schools by raising academic standards, increasing teacher and administrator effectiveness, and implementing innovation that improves learning. This is a good first step on education reform, a multi-year effort to enhance educational opportunities for all Iowa students. (SF 2284, Education Reform)
  • Competency-based education that allows students to learn and complete courses at their own pace
  • Small class sizes in early grades so teachers can spot issues and bring students up to speed faster
  • Developing online teaching and learning as a tool for students in their local schools
  • Creating higher requirements for students entering the teaching profession
  • Increasing teacher collaboration and coaching so teachers can help each other improve
  • Establishing annual teacher peer reviews and administrator evaluations
  • Having school administers focus more on improving teaching rather than non-educational duties

Investing in education, research and training facilities that prepare a highly skilled workforce (SF 2316, Infrastructure Budget):

• Community College ACE (Accelerated Career Education) Infrastructure, $6 million
• Community College Maintenance, $5 million
• Regents Tuition Replacement, $25.1 million
• Regents Fire & Safety/ADA Compliance, $2 million
• U of I Dental Building, $10.25 million
• ISU Ag/Biosystems Engineering Complex, $19.05 million
• UNI Bartlett Hall Renovations, $7.78 million
• ISU Research Park, $1 million
• ISU College of Veterinary Medicine Improvements, $400,000

The Senate also approved important investments in student achievement that were not taken up by the House.

• Providing a 4 percent increase in basic state support for local schools for the 2013-2014 school year. These funds would be used for textbooks, heating bills, technology and other necessities required for students and teachers to be successful. SF 2114 passed Senate on party-line vote.
• Establishing a pilot program to promote excellence in the teaching profession by providing yearly peer coaching stipends for teachers who volunteer for the program. School districts would assign peer coaches to teachers in need of additional guidance. Part of the Senate’s original Education Reform proposal, which passed Senate on party-line vote.

Stimulating economic growth.

• Extending Iowa’s commercial and industrial highway network of interconnected roads that provides long-distance route continuity. In order to improve the flow of commerce, make travel more convenient and safe, and better connect parts of Iowa and the Midwest, a major portion of Iowa’s annual road construction budget is targeted for the commercial and industrial highway network. (SF 2153)
• Expanding opportunities for local auto dealers by allowing them to offer vehicles for sale at fairs, shows and other exhibitions. (SF 2249)
• Providing tax credits for the construction and installation of solar energy systems and geothermal heat pumps to jumpstart new Iowa energy industries. (SF 2342)
• Boosting Iowa’s ag economy with year-round farmers’ markets, so Iowans can purchase nutritious, locally grown food throughout the year. (HF 2092)
• Keeping businesses in our local communities through Employee Stock Ownership Plans by allowing employers to easily sell their business to employees and earn a capital gains tax deduction. (HF 2465, Standings)
• Helping businesses create jobs through targeted incentives and supporting efforts by Iowa’s state universities to work with businesses on technology commercialization, marketing, entrepreneurship and technical assistance. (HF 2337, Economic Development Budget;  HF 2473)
• Continuing a break at the pump for consumers who buy ethanol-blended fuel by extending the tax break for one year. (HF 2472)
• Providing incentives for a world-class baseball tournament and training complex to locate in Iowa. This project is projected to create hundreds of jobs and bring thousands of sports fans to our state each year. (SF 2239)

The Senate also gave bipartisan approval to several job creation initiatives that the House did not take up:

• Ensuring more publicly funded projects in Iowa use American-made goods, such as steel, iron and other materials, before turning to foreign imports when fixing Iowa’s roads, bridges, schools, water and sewage systems, and other public infrastructure. SF 2287 passed Senate 37-13.
• Giving Iowa businesses seeking to sell products and services to the state the chance to match competing out-of-state bids for projects under $500,000, provided the Iowa firm is within 5 percent or $10,000 of the lowest bidder. SF 2302 passed Senate 35-15.
• Leveling the playing field for Iowa’s Main Street businesses by implementing a sales tax on Internet purchases so that large, out-of-state companies pay the same amount of sales tax as small businesses in our communities. SF 2330 passed Senate 48-0.
• Providing $10 million in tax credits to help communities clean-up and revitalize their business districts and industrial parks. SF 2339 passed Senate 49-0.
• Cutting taxes for more than 260,000 Iowa households, including the families of 37 percent of Iowa’s children by increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit. It’s one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the nation, one that also boosts the economy when working families spend those dollars locally on such necessities as food, gas, car repairs and medical bills. SF 2161 passed Senate 48-0.
• Increasing tax credits available for wind energy projects, and reserving some for small producers who install a wind energy system of up to 100 kilowatts in wind innovation zones. SF 2326 passed Senate 41-9.

Ensuring government is accountable to Iowans.

• Protecting students’ pocketbooks by ensuring they get a minimum tuition refund if they withdraw from a for-profit school. (SF 2267)

• Offering greater convenience to Iowans and saving $1 million in tax dollars by offering online driver’s license renewal. (SF 2338, Government Efficiencies)
• Requiring an ongoing, comprehensive review of all state department rules to eliminate those that are outdated, redundant, inconsistent or incompatible. (HF 2465, Standings)
• Giving Iowans better access to government information and public records by creating the Iowa Public Information Board to address and resolve complaints. (SF 430)
• Requiring funders of automated “robo-calls” to identify themselves, thereby increasing transparency and accountability in Iowa campaign spending (SF 2236), and ensuring that campaigns are run fairly (SF 2313).
• Improving efficiency in how the state uses technology and space, and modernizing the way state government operates. (SF 2338, Government Efficiencies)
• Calling on Congress to regulate and restrict unlimited corporate campaign contributions that drown out the voices of living, breathing Americans. (SR 113)
• Improving TIF (tax incremental financing) laws to increase accountability and transparency, while continuing this effective local economic development tool. (HF 2460)
• Creating a searchable online database of the state budget so that Iowans can see how their tax dollars are invested. (SF 2316, Infrastructure Budget)

Improving health care for all Iowans.

• Reforming Iowa’s mental health system so that all Iowans get high-quality services regardless of where they live. Regional management will save money, eliminate administrative duplication and offer consistency in both rural and urban counties. (SF 2315)
• Ensuring top-quality products and services for Iowans in need of prosthetics and orthotics, including combat soldiers returning from war, by establishing statewide standards for orthotists, prosthetists and pedorthists. (SF 364)
• Ensuring a patient’s treatment preferences are respected by translating them into a medical order that may be relied upon by healthcare providers. (HF 2165).
• Attracting more doctors to rural Iowa by providing partial loan repayment for medical students who agree to practice in underserved areas of the state. (HF 2458)
• Making improvements to Iowa’s nursing homes to ensure they are safe. (SF 2316, Infrastructure Budget)
• Helping seniors live independently and safely by providing greater access to community-based services and reducing unnecessary dependence on institutional care. (SF2336, HHS Budget)
• Helping Iowans quit smoking, ensuring low-income Iowans have access to key preventive health screenings and supporting health care services and programs that will make Iowa the Healthiest State in the Nation. (SF2336, HHS Budget)
• Funding programs that help ensure all Iowans get the mental health care they need. (SF2336, HHS Budget)

The Senate also approved valuable health care initiatives that were not taken up by the House.

• Requiring that group health insurance plans for small businesses and public employees cover therapy for children with autism. SF 2128 Passed Senate 43-7.
• Establishing a comprehensive statewide strategy to help people with Alzheimer’s and their families by broadening awareness of the disease, collecting data and expanding access to quality services. SF 2270 Passed Senate 44-6.
• Creating a certification system and professional career pathway for Iowa’s 76,000 direct care workers to ensure quality services and health care for Iowans living in nursing homes, long term care centers or group homes. SF 2298 Passed Senate on party-line vote.

Maintaining safe communities.

• Toughening the penalty for domestic abuse by including strangulation or choking, an intentional act that often indicates more deadly domestic assaults in the future. (SF 93)
• Ensuring safety for corrections workers, prisoners and the public by maintaining adequate staffing at prisons and community-based corrections facilities across the state. (HF 2335, Justice System Budget)
• Increasing funding for Iowa’s troopers to keep our roadways safe. (HF 2335, Justice System Budget)
• Increasing fines and penalties for drivers who violate school bus laws. A study will also be conducted on how to best increase school bus safety for children. (SF 2218)
• Making school buses safer by requiring criminal background checks for all school bus drivers. School districts are required to pay for the background check at time of employment. (SF 2221)
• Providing a nonrefundable individual income tax credit of $50 to certified volunteer emergency medical services personnel or volunteer firefighters who meet minimum training standards. (SF 2322)
• Maintaining 911 emergency services by enhancing technology to ensure timely, high-quality responses. (SF 2332).
• Stiffening penalties for drivers who fail to move over and slow down for vehicles with flashing lights responding to roadside emergencies. Fines are increased, and license suspension is mandatory if a violation causes damage to the property of another person, bodily injury to another person or death. (HF 2228)
• Preventing child abuse by enacting recommendations from the Iowa Child Sexual Abuse Taskforce on better training for doctors, teachers, social workers, police officers and others who are mandatory child abuse reporters. (SF 2225)

• Requiring school districts to report misconduct by educators, administrators or other licensed personnel to the Board of Educational Examiners. Misconduct may include romantic or other inappropriate relationships with students, falsifying grades, test scores and other official information, or using public property or funds for personal use. (HF 2383)
• Cracking down on scrap metal theft, a serious threat to public safety that creates fire hazards and other dangers. Scrap metal dealers must now keep a record of their scrap metal purchases, including the name, address and place of business of every person who sells them scrap metal. (HF 2399)
• Banning dangerous “designer drugs,” including K2 and bath salts, which frequently send users to the emergency room with ill effects. (SF 2343)
• Improving communications and efficiency among our public safety agencies (SF 2316, Infrastructure Budget):
  • DOC – Iowa Corrections Offender Network: $500,000
  • DOC – Radio Communications: $3.5 million
  • DHR – CJIS: $1.7 million
  • DPS – Radio Upgrade $2.5 million

The Senate approved several additional measures on bipartisan votes to make Iowa communities safer but the House did not take them up.

• Helping victims of identity theft by providing a “passport” to use as proof to law enforcement and creditors that someone has stolen their identity. Victims can receive reimbursement for expenses, such as traveling to and from the courthouse to attend trial or missing work because of criminal proceedings related to the case. SF 2111 Passed Senate 50-0.
• Helping senior citizens who’ve been cheated by making them eligible for reimbursement for expenses, such as traveling to and from the courthouse to attend trial or missing work because of criminal proceedings related to the case. SF 2111 Passed Senate 50-0.
• Helping close the “justice gap” for Iowans who were abused as kids by extending the statute of limitations for filing criminal charges and civil suits. SF 2295 Passed Senate 49-0.
• Establishing a Public Safety Training Trust Fund to support statewide programs and facilities for police, fire and other public safety personnel (including volunteers) to improve training and reduce the burden on property taxes. This effort is supported by the Iowa Association of Professional Fire Chiefs, Iowa Firefighters Association, Iowa Professional Firefighters, and Iowa Fire Chiefs Association. SF 2335 passed Senate 35-13.

Honoring our veterans and service members.

• Ensuring returning National Guard soldiers get promised college tuition assistance by investing in the Iowa National Guard tuition assistance program. (SF 2321)
• Expanding eligibility for the Iowa National Guard Civil Relief Act by reducing the required days of active duty from 90 to 30.  This means that our active duty soldiers won’t have to worry about lease termination, eviction, or the disconnection of gas, electric and other services. (SF 2097)
• Allowing Iowa military veterans to request that their veteran status be noted on their Iowa driver’s license or non-operator’s identification card. The license or card will have the word “VETERAN” prominently on its face. This will make applying for veterans benefits more straightforward. (SF 2112)

• Clarifying requirements for the State’s Injured Veterans Grant program. A veteran must be seriously injured or very seriously injured, as defined by the U.S. Department of Defense. (SF 2244)
• Establishing our state’s first “Post-Traumatic Stress and Dual Diagnosis Center” at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown to provide long-term care to Iowans suffering from combat-related post-traumatic stress and substance abuse. (SF 2245)
• Allowing veterans to purchase an interment space for themselves and their spouse, if space is available, and allowing the surviving spouse to purchase space in the cemetery where the veteran is interred. (HF 2264)
• Allowing the Veterans Trust Fund to provide loans to help build the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. The money will be paid back by federal grants, and the trust fund will not decrease. (HF 2402)
• Helping returning veterans get jobs by allowing the Iowa Department of Transportation to waive the driving skills test for a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) if a service member can prove related active-duty training. The applicant must still pass a knowledge skills test and have a safe driving record.  (HF 2403)
• Making it easier for a veteran to receive a six-month extension of their Iowa driver’s license. The bill declares that a Department of Defense common access card is proof of current service, and a certificate of release from active duty is satisfactory evidence of previous service and honorable discharge. (HF 2404)
• Allowing additional funds to be used immediately to take care of veterans in need of assistance through the Veterans Trust Fund, and providing additional money so that more eligible veterans receive the help they need for such things as dental, vision and hearing care, or emergency home or vehicle repair. (HF 2466)
• Providing $1.6 million for veterans’ home-buying assistance. (SF2336, HHS Budget)

• Infrastructure Budget,  SF 2316:
  • EDA -  Ft. Des Moines (Veterans) Museum Renovations, $100,000
  • DPD – Capital Projects: $5.2 million total,  including  $2 million for facility maintenance at armories, $2.1 million for statewide modernization agenda at Dubuque and Council Bluffs readiness centers, $610,000 for improvements at Camp Dodge, and $500,000 for renovation of the Joint Forces Headquarters building
  • IVH – Boiler Replacement $975,919
  • DCA – Grout Museum District Oral History Exhibit: $150,000 for FY 2013, $129,450 for FY 2014

Enhancing Iowa’s quality of life.

• Protecting Iowans and reputable businesses from “stormchasers,” scammers who follow natural disasters from state to state and take advantage of victims through high-pressure tactics, bogus endorsements and false promises to repair or replace exterior damage on homes. Contractors are banned from offering customers “rebates” on their insurance deductibles, acting as adjustors or intermediaries between the customer and the insurance company, and making face-to-face misrepresentations that can be difficult for the consumers to prove. (SF 466)
• Promoting hunting and fishing by lowering the cost and increasing convenience. Iowans will be able to purchase a three-year hunting license, a three-year fishing license or combination hunting and fishing license. Anglers can also pay $10 for a third fishing line. In addition, the existing wildlife habitat fee is wrapped into the cost of a hunting license that requires the purchase of the wildlife habitat fee. (SF 2317)
• Protecting consumers and businesses by ensuring subcontractors get paid for their work and homeowners are not charged double if a general contractor fails to pay a subcontractor. A State Construction Registry will be created to serve as a state-wide repository for pre-lien notices and mechanics’ liens. (HF 675)
• Supporting local food production and distribution, which benefits Iowa farmers by helping them market their goods to Iowa schools and food retailers. (HF 2336, Ag & Natural Resources Budget)
• Helping disabled farmers continue farming by supporting the Farmers with Disabilities program, which helps with modifications that allow them to continue to operate their farm equipment. (HF 2336, Ag & Natural Resources Budget)
• Improving water quality and protecting our water supply by providing $1 million for watershed improvement projects organized by local organizations through the Watershed Improvement Review Board. (HF 2465, Standings)
• Closing 18 agricultural drainage wells that allow pollution into our groundwater and aquifers. (HF 2336, Ag & Natural Resources Budget)
• Maintaining our state’s nationally recognized court system, which provides efficient, high-quality services to Iowans. (HF 2338, Judicial Branch Budget)
• Increasing recreational opportunities for Iowa snowmobilers by improving and expanding trails. (HF 2467)
• Extending the requirement that banks and other entities foreclosing on homes inform homeowners that they can receive mortgage mediation assistance from the Attorney General’s office. This requirement has helped thousands of Iowans keep their homes. (HF 2335, Justice System Budget)
• Providing safe, stable homes for children and families at risk by supporting adoption, foster care, childcare and other key services. (SF2336, HHS Budget)
• Helping Iowans hit hardest by the recession with support for food banks, health care providers who work with low-income Iowans and programs that help families achieve self-sufficiency. (SF2336, HHS Budget)
  • Infrastructure Budget,  SF 2316:
  • Great Places Infrastructure Grants: $1.0 million for FY13
  • Historical Building Renovation: $1.45 million for FY13, and $1 million for FY14
  • CAT Grants  $5 million in FY13 & FY14
  • Regional Sports Authorities:$500,000
  • Camp Sunnyside Cabin/Kitchen Renovations: $125,000
  • Lake Restoration: $6 million
  • Lake Delhi Dam Reconstruction: $2.5 million in FY13 and FY14
  • State Park Infrastructure: $5 million
  • Water Trails & Low Head Dam Grants: $1 million
  • State Fair – Cultural Center Renovation  $250,000 in FY13 & FY14
  • County Fairs: $1.06 million
  • DOT: $3 million for recreational trails
• The Senate also approved measures to enhance Iowa’s quality of life that were not taken up by House.
  • Creating a state emergency food program by providing tax credits to food producers that donate produce to Iowa food banks or other Iowa emergency food organizations. SF 2327 Passed Senate 48-0.

Stopping Bad Ideas

Some of the best news of the 2012 session was that several bad Republican proposals were stopped because of opposition by Iowans across the state and by Democrats in the Legislature. A short list of those dead bills includes:

• HF 2245 would have ended  40 years of letting schools know how much they will received in state funds two years in advance.
• SF 2187 would have eliminated collective bargaining rights of public employees in Iowa.
• SF 2241 would have abolished the Iowa Department of Education and the State Board of Education.
• S-5203 by Senator Chelgren would have required drug testing in order to be eligible for the Family Investment program (Amendments to the HHS bill)
• S-5204 by Senator Chelgren would have allowed a non-custodial parent to demand the custodial parent be drug tested in child support payment arrangement situations (Amendments to the HHS bill)

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal:
“We did some things on job creation in this state on making sure that the resources are there to provide for education and training of employees in this state to match the skills to the jobs that are out there and get thousands of Iowans back to work. So I’m pretty excited about some of the things we did for higher education and in particular community colleges. There are disappointments, there are disappointments in every session. I would have really loved to have gotten something done on commercial property taxes in this state. In the end we felt the plan that the Governor was advancing was one that would shift taxes to homeowners and we couldn’t go along with that.”

Video, audio and a transcript can be found at IPTV.

Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids

Senate proposals approved with strong bipartisan support that the Iowa House failed to consider

Statement by Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids

“Below are ten bills that passed the Iowa Senate with strong bipartisan support.  They focus on job creation, growing Iowa’s economy, health care and public safety.  Unfortunately, the Iowa House failed to debate these bipartisan opportunities to move Iowa forward.”

Small business health care tax credit: SF 506 – Help 60,000 Iowa businesses with 10 or fewer employees by providing a tax credit to defray the cost of employee health insurance. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 48-0.

Supporting the use of alternative fuel vehicles: SF520 – Tax credits for electric and natural gas vehicle infrastructure, which would create jobs and provide a long-term, environmentally superior alternative to dependence on foreign oil. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 47-3.

Working families’ tax cut: SF2161 – Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to cut taxes for 260,000 working families (home to 37 percent of Iowa’s children) and boosting our local economy. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 48-0.

Buy American when spending public dollars: SF2287 – Preference for American-made products to be used on public projects, unless those products cost 5 percent more than other products. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 37-13.

Encourage locally-owned renewable energy: SF2326 – Add renewable energy production tax credits for locally-owned projects to create jobs and help the environment. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 41-9.

Buy Iowan when spending state dollars: SF2302 – Give Iowa companies an opportunity to match a lower bid when the state is purchasing goods and services if the Iowa company is within 5 percent or $10,000 of the lowest bidder. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 35-15.

Require autism coverage: SF2128 – Require insurance companies to provide coverage of autism spectrum disorders.  This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 43-7.

Alzheimer’s support strategy: SF2270 – Establish a comprehensive strategy to help people with Alzheimer’s and their families. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 44-6.

Close the “justice gap” for victims of child sexual abuse: SF2295 – Extend the statute of limitations to 10 years from the date they turn 18 for victims of child sexual abuse to bring a civil lawsuit. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 49-0.

Statewide public safety training center: SF2335 – Establish a governing board and funding mechanism for coordinated statewide programs and facilities for police, fire and other public safety personnel and volunteers to improve training and reduce the burden on property taxes. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 35-13.

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Senator Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington

(DES MOINES)  On Monday, May 7, the Senate voted 28-19 and the Iowa House voted 92-5 for a bipartisan, compromise education budget that includes key job creation measures.  The legislation now goes to Governor Branstad for his signature.

“When Iowa employers can’t find the workers they need, they have three bad choices: lose business to competitors, hire out-of-state, or move out of Iowa,” said Senator Brian Schoenjahn, chair of the Senate Education Budget.  “We’ve voted to invest in our community colleges so they can help Iowans fill those skilled job shortages.”

Under Senate File 2321, investment in workforce training will increase to $8 million next year, a hike of 60 percent.  The new GAP Tuition Fund, which helps Iowans earn certificates in welding, information technology and other shortage areas, will begin with a $2 million investment.  The Accelerated Career Education (ACE) program will receive $6 million.  General community college funding will increase by $13 million and the institutions will receive an additional $5 million for maintenance.

“Helping Iowans become more productive, more competitive workers is a great way to grow our economy and create new jobs in our state,” said Schoenjahn.  “Reaching the right compromise took some time but improving our economy and helping Iowans improve themselves was certainly worth it. “

The compromise budget also increases funding for Iowa’s public universities by $23 million, an amount which the Board of Regents has said will help prevent future tuition increases.  Tuition grants for private colleges were increased by 4.6 percent and funds for the National Guard tuition program were increased by 7 percent.

“By keeping tuition costs down at our public universities and private colleges, we increase educational opportunity and make it possible for Iowa’s families to send their kids to Iowa’s great colleges and universities,” said Schoenjahn.

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To help them get the training they need, we’re working to create a shared facility to support the training of Iowa’s firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical responders. By pooling local, state and federal funds, we can develop a high-quality, efficient center.  Given Iowa’s tradition of national leadership in fire service training and safety education, this project makes perfect sense.

Every Iowan will likely receive help from our volunteer emergency workers at some point in their lives. As a small token of appreciation, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed a “thank-you” to volunteer firefighters and EMTs. 

Starting next year, they’ll get a $50 state tax credit on their personal tax returns. It’s the first time that the state has recognized the financial contribution of our volunteer emergency workers, who also donate their time and sometimes risk their lives.

Please be sure to thank your local firefighters and emergency medical responders the next time you see them.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller

New alerts from the Iowa Attorney General’s office will ensure that victims of abuse are better informed about protective orders against their abusers.

In Iowa, victims of abuse must request that the court issue a “no contact” order to legally prevent an abuser from approaching them. A “no contact” order is not enforceable until the abuser is served with the order.

The new Iowa Protective Order Notification for Domestic Abuse Program (IPONDA) will provide near real-time, around-the-clock notifications by telephone or e-mail. Registered victims will know if a “no contact” order has been served or if a “no contact” order is about to expire.

The alert system is paid for through a grant from the Federal Department of Justice. Those who wish to register for notifications should call 1-888-742-8463 or go to www.registervpo.com.    

Learn more about IPONDA at http://www.iowa.gov/government/ag/helping_victims/contents/IPONDA.html.

The first is education reform. This session, we’re building on Iowa’s tradition of excellent local schools by working to raise academic standards, increase the effectiveness of educators, and provide for innovations that enhance learning. Senate File 2284 was developed with the help of parents, teachers and students, as well as state and national experts.

While differences in the House and Senate approaches to education reform remain, we’re working to find common ground on:

• Establishing annual teacher and administrator evaluations

• Expanding the educational standards and key concepts students should know

• Competency-based education that allows students to learn at their own pace and advance quickly in subjects they enjoy

• Creating higher requirements for students entering the teaching profession

• Helping principals put more focus on improving teaching rather than non-educational administrative duties

Second, basic state funding for local school districts must be reliable and adequate to meet needs. In the Senate, we’ve approved a 4 percent increase in basic state support for local schools for the 2013-2014 school year. These dollars are used for textbooks, heating bills, technology and other necessities so that students, teachers and schools can be successful.

Iowans expect and want great local schools. The state budget has recovered and it’s time to help our schools do the same. Unfortunately, the House is again insisting on no new funding for local students.

Third, we must ensure that all Iowa students are good readers by third grade. This is a centerpiece of the Governor’s reform proposal that I wholeheartedly support. Class size affects student success, especially when children are learning to read.

We need to continue efforts to limit class sizes for kindergarten through third-graders by extending Iowa’s Early Intervention Block Grant Program—more commonly known as the “class size reduction” program—so that students get the one-on-one attention they need to get a good start in school.

• An increase in our state’s investment in education at the local level, at our community colleges and at our state universities. The Senate blocked Republican demands to close preschools, eliminate support for smaller class sizes and extra help for kids learning to read, cut community college funding and force more of the cost of college onto the backs of families.

• A significant cut in commercial property taxes that reduces taxes on every commercial property in Iowa. We need to help small businesses the most and does not shift taxes onto residential property.

• A tax cut for working families—one that will also help local businesses when families purchase milk, gas and school clothes, make car repairs and pay bills.

What else still needs to be done?

Legislation that will help create jobs and strengthen our economy tops my list. Many ideas passed the Senate with bipartisan support but weren’t taken up in the House. These ideas—developed by working closely with local business and community leaders—need to be given another look:

• Giving Iowa’s community colleges more tools to help fix our state’s shortage of skilled workers. 

• Intensifying efforts to make sure state and local tax dollars buy American and buy Iowan.

• Reducing costs for 60,000 Iowa small businesses with a state tax credit on employee health insurance costs.

• Providing consumer rebates to create jobs on solar and wind projects at residences and businesses.

While it is true that some legislative Republicans have floated the idea of just giving up and going home, rest assured, that won’t happen.

A recent Sioux City Journal editorial stated: “Voters sent representatives and senators (Republicans and Democrats) to Des Moines to do a job. Arguably, the most important job for our legislators is passage of a budget (a budget for the full fiscal year) before they gavel their session to a close. Iowans expect nothing less.”

I agree 100 percent!!!

That’s why I will continue to make the case for investing in Iowa’s future while being fiscally responsible. Our state’s economy has rebounded from the national recession stronger and quicker than most states. The state budget is in good shape, thanks to sound bipartisan management.

Here are some budget facts. The state of Iowa is expected to have a budget surplus of about $258 million on June 30, the end of the current budget year. In addition, we have $617.1 million in our reserve funds, the largest amount in state history. On top of that, we’re putting an additional $60 million into the newly created Taxpayer Trust Fund.

In short, there is no reason for any legislator to give up and go home without making the tough decisions they were sent to the Statehouse to make.