It’s Finally Over: 2023 Legislative Session Adjourns for the Year
After a week of overtime, the Iowa Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, May 4.
If you’re like me, you are probably breathing a sigh of relief that it is finally over.
There are so many good things government can do for its people when leaders use their power for good. Unfortunately, that’s not what transpired this legislative session. Instead, we witnessed Governor Reynolds and statehouse Republicans using their trifecta super majority power to sow seeds of division and push a culture war agenda that looks horrible on our great state.
We are better than this legislative session was to Iowans.
I have a different vision for Iowa, and I know many of you do too. I plan to spend the interim meeting with people in our district and across Iowa to talk about taking our state in a more positive direction. It’s time to push an agenda that brings Iowans together and makes Iowa a place we are proud to call home again. I don’t want Iowans to feel like they need to move out of our state. If you’d like to be part of the conversation, let me know. I’d love the chance to visit.
Bipartisan Property Tax Relief Bill Signed into Law
Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate came together to pass a $100 million property tax package that will provide some relief for middle-class Iowa families.
Spiking assessments and rising property taxes are hitting every Iowa community and placing heavy burdens on middle-class Iowans – especially our seniors, veterans, and those living on fixed incomes.
The property tax package passed this week is an important, needed step forward that will provide real relief for the taxpayers who need it most. Big corporations and the wealthiest Iowans have gotten their tax cuts – it’s about time the middle-class caught a break, too.
Under this agreement, cities and counties will be able to provide the essential services that Iowans rely on, while also providing transparency to help taxpayers understand what they’re paying and what they’re getting in their local government budgets.
Quick Updates
- Water Quality Cuts. Since 2013, the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa has been working with the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Center on supervising water quality monitoring across the state, including the network of approximately 70 sensors on Iowa’s streams and rivers that measure nitrate levels and send real-time data to the Iowa Water Quality Information System. But now, the budget written and supported by statehouse Republicans diverts one-third of the state’s funding for water quality projects. That adds up to a $500,000 cut to the Nutrient Reduction Center funding and is almost guaranteed to hinder the Iowa Flood Center and water quality measurement statewide. No Democratic senators supported this step backwards on safe drinking water.
- $30M less for AEAs. In the same budget bill that used $107 million of Iowa taxpayer money to fund the first year of the Republican-backed private school vouchers, Legislative Republicans cut $30 million from the state’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs). AEAs provide special education and other essential services for students and schools across our state. This year’s $30 million cut could mean losing 8-12 staff members at each AEA – at a time when demand for AEA services will increase for children no longer in public schools who are part of the private-school voucher program. AEAs will be required to serve these kids without any AEA funding for them.
- Ending non-competes. Last week, Senate Democrats supported HF 93, which eliminates non-compete agreements for mental health professionals. The move will allow mental health professionals to provide services to Iowans immediately after leaving any hospital, removing contract restrictions on future employment. While Senate Republicans need to do more to support our state’s lackluster mental health infrastructure, this legislation is a move in the right direction.
- Supporting local producers. The legislature created a new Dairy Innovation Fund, which will provide $750,000 in grants and loans to support Iowa dairy farms. Iowa ranks 12th nationally in dairy production, but our industry has seen waves of consolidation and increasing challenges for family farms and small producers. This new fund is aimed at supporting smaller producers and keeping them stay competitive.
- Improving the probate system. The Senate moved a bill last week making a wide range of fixes to the probate code. It will give more flexibility and protections for the inheritance of minors who have lost their parents, and it will simplify the transition for people who can’t afford long-term care but have too much income for Medicaid. Moving loved ones into long-term care can be a stressful and complicated time, and I’m glad we’ve taken steps to simplify it.
- NAEP: The National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly called the Nation’s Report card, showed a decline in history and civics scores this month. No one disputes the educational disruptions from the pandemic have had a huge impact on students learning in all areas. But when it comes to subjects such as history and civics, we need to increase support for schools to provide students with more learning opportunities about America’s history and government. What we shouldn’t be doing is pumping public money into private school vouchers and banning books, or censoring and scaring teachers from teaching important history and civic lessons.
- Inaction on opioids. Republicans in the legislature refused to invest the opioid settlement funds awarded to the State of Iowa this session. Their inaction freezes more than $20 million (and quickly growing) in the fund that should be spent on helping Iowans with harm reduction and prevention initiatives.
This Week in the Capitol
