News from the Hill…
There has been a lot more committee action this week as we march to the first funnel, which will greatly reduce the amount of bills that will be eligible for debate on the House floor. The actual date for the first funnel is February 19, which is the end of the 6th week of the 2016 Session. This is the final date for Senate Bills to be reported out of the Senate committees and House bills to be reported out of House committees. There are a few exceptions for this joint rule, but primarily it applies to all committees except the Appropriation Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. These two committees meet all session long. Any bill that has an appropriation must be passed out of the Appropriation Committee and any bill that has a tax or fee must be passed out of the Ways and Means Committee. It is not uncommon for some bills to have both a tax/fee or appropriation implication, which means the bill would have to pass out of both committees to be eligible for floor debate.
The second funnel date is March 11, which is the final date for Senate bills to be reported out of House committees and House bills out of Senate committees. So as the session progresses, the amount of bills gets smaller, committee time decreases and floor debate increases.
Stock Market Plunge…
As I write this column the stock market is down over 300 points and the Federal Reserve has signaled a possible drop in the interest rates. This concerns me and several others on what might be on the horizon for our state and country. But many of us have been stating for years that our economy is built on a house of cards. When government tries to prop up and stimulate the economy on one hand. But on the other hand passes regulation or laws that tear down the structure you end up with a false economy built on a house of cards. While I hope there is not a recession on the way, it is definitely a time for fiscal discipline to prepare for the worse and hope for the best. As always there seems to be too many that want to bury their head in the sand and spend all they can for today and not worry about tomorrow.
House Budget Targets…
The Iowa House Republicans have released our budget targets for fiscal year 2017 which we are preparing. In order to increase school funding for the next fiscal year all other areas of the state budget is getting reduced. Most of these reductions will be found in better efficiencies, but it is never easy to reduce government spending. But there are lots of Iowans who have to make the same reductions in their personal budgets; they should not expect anything less from their government at all levels.
Visitors from Back Home…
This past week was the annual Great River Region Days. There was close to one hundred people from Louisa, Lee, Henry and Des Moines Counties here for two days of meetings and networking. There were about 30 high school juniors that attend a Southeastern Community College class, (M-Power-U) present three different topics of interest. The three topics were on minimum wage, improving Iowa’s mental health system and alternative school scheduling. The students once again showed they had done their research were thinking outside the box on finding solutions. I was able to take a few minutes out of my schedule to take these same students to the top of the capitol dome. While there are lots of stairs, this is always an exhilarating and a humbling experience especially for first time goers to the dome. It was too windy and too cold to open the door and go outside on top of the dome, but still a nice experience for most of them. I have noticed there seems to be a ‘few’ more stairs every year.
“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
– Abraham Lincoln
For more information on these and other bills: www.legis.iowa.gov
Until next time,
Tom Sands