From the Desk of Senator Winckler
Week three of the legislative session was very tough, with the passage of House File 68, the private school voucher bill. I listened to the comments during the House public meeting, the Senate subcommittee and I listened to my constituents. Hundreds of you reached out, with 82% who contacted expressing opposition to the bill.
The bill had many problems that weren’t addressed, but moving forward, it’s important to look at the fiscal impact. The legislature committed almost $1 billion or more in new spending over the next four years.
At a time when our state revenue projections for this current budget year (FY23) have been reduced by 1.9% and state revenue growth for the upcoming budget year (FY24) is projected at 0.1%, the Iowa Legislature needs to carefully scrutinize new spending.
You might be thinking, “But we have a $1.6 billion dollar surplus, how can growth be projected to be that low?” Well, the $32 billion dollars that came to the Iowa treasury from the federal government during the pandemic created the surplus, and now they’re disappearing. That was one-time money. It is foolish to commit to ongoing state expenditures with one-time money.
I am a member of both the Appropriation and Ways and Means committees in the Senate. I will continue to ask the necessary questions and work to assure that Iowans will be protected from over-committing and under-performing.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve in the Senate.
What Can the Iowa Senate Do for You?
As the legislative session gets underway, it’s essential to know what issues are on your mind, and what you want to see lawmakers working on this year.
Quick Updates
Vouchers are a done deal. Gov. Kim Reynolds and statehouse Republicans rammed their private school vouchers bill through the legislature this week, using an unprecedented array of political maneuvers and parliamentary tricks to pass it into law as quickly as possible.
- In the House, Republican leaders created an entirely new committee to consider voucher legislation, shutting many of their own members out of the discussion, and then tweaked the rules to dodge any scrutiny into the financial implications of the plan.
- In the Senate, the GOP used a legislative trick to block any amendments to the bill – from Democrats or Republicans – that could’ve been offered to make it less harmful to public schools and rural communities.
- The governor welcomed national school voucher lobbyists to the Capitol late Monday night for the bill’s final passage, and then rushed to sign it into law less than 12 hours later.
The final Senate vote was 31 to 18, with three Republicans joining 15 Democrats in opposition. Now, private school vouchers are the law of the land, beginning an unprecedented diversion of taxpayer dollars to exclusive private schools.
The plan is projected to pay private school tuition for 41,687 Iowa students at a cost of $341 million a year once fully phased in – while slashing funding to public schools by $46 million per year.
- Senate Dems support family leave. Last week, every Senate Democrat signed on as cosponsor to SF 95, a bill establishing paid family leave for Iowa’s working families. Senate Democrats’ number one priority is supporting working families, lowering costs, and creating opportunity, and paid leave is essential to accomplishing those goals.
- License to Kale. The Senate Local Government Committee advanced a bill to open up farmers markets vendor licenses on a statewide basis. That means your favorite stand could have an easier time covering multiple locations this summer.
- Cold Cases at DPS. The Senate held a hearing this week on the creation of a cold case investigation unit in the Department of Public Safety. Solving cold cases give closure to victims and is a huge morale boost for a police force.
- Don’t device & drive. A bill banning handheld devices while driving advanced in the Senate Transportation Committee this week. SF 60 is aimed at keeping Iowa’s roadways safe by preventing distracted driving. Under the bill, using a device while driving would be a moving violation subject to a $100 fine and could lead to a suspension of your license.
- Insulin relief is on the way. Medicare beneficiaries who need insulin will see tremendous relief with the implementation of price caps included the federal Inflation Reduction Act. That’s great news for Iowa, which currently faces the second-highest out-of-pocket insulin costs in the nation. Check out this report on the Rx benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act.
This Week in the Capitol
