News from the Hill…
When we began the eighty-fifth General Assembly, I was committed to focusing on ways to make Iowa strong — creating certainty with balanced budgets, promoting job creation through tax reform, with strong schools and communities. As we close the session, I am proud to have fulfilled these commitments.
The last two weeks have been filled with many highs and many lows on the emotional scale. One minute it looked like we were heading for adjournment, then the wheels would come off to bring us to a screeching halt. Working countless hours trying to negotiate a property tax compromise has been extremely draining on me. Couple that with trying to work some at the bank, drive back and forth from Des Moines and living out of a suitcase has been tiring to say the least. But now that we have passed the largest tax cut in the history of the state and adjourned sine die, it has all been worth it. We started working on property taxes three sessions, ago. The first two sessions, we came so close in getting something significant passed, but continued to come up short. This year the bill filed was HF 2 and was assigned to committee on opening day. We were off and running and never looked back. The first bill that was passed by both chambers and signed into law by the Governor was the IRC update bill which couples Iowa Tax code with Federal Tax code changes. It was only fitting that the last bill passed by the Iowa House of Representatives was the Conference Committee Report on SF 295, dealing with property taxes. This was something that no other legislature has ever been able to do. I had the great opportunity to not only floor managing this bill, but writing most of it. As I was giving my closing remarks on the final day, Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds entered the House Chamber to listen to my remarks and witness the passing of the bill. This was a historic moment and one that has not completely sunk in. However, it is a moment that I will never forget. I have the people of House District 88 to thank for trusting me once again to be their voice in Des Moines. Thank you, it is an honor to serve you and one that I hold in high respect.
We also passed a major Education Reform Bill. Students must possess the skills necessary to succeed in college or in the workforce. The reform package offers flexibility for school districts, innovation for teachers, accountability for parents and protection for taxpayers. It also brings new approaches and measureable results to the system. The bill includes choice for parents and strengthens the role of the parent, not the government. Finally it adds modern evaluation and accountability measures to ensure Iowa students are receiving first-rate instruction.
In the final days of the session House Republicans crafted a bipartisan health care plan that focuses on making Iowans healthier without bowing to federal pressure to expand Medicaid. Since the plan focuses on health, wellness and prevention, costs can be controlled at the state level saving taxpayers money. This plan needs to be monitored closely in the future to make sure it does exactly what it is support to do. However, it is much better than what the Federal Government wanted us to do which was to expand Medicaid which places more people on welfare, it never is in society’s best interest to expand the amount of people on its welfare system.
Click on the above link to watch the video of the last morning of session which will include closing remarks of the Speaker of the Iowa House, Majority Leader and Minority leaders of the Iowa House.
The screen will show the House at ease for 1 minute and 20 seconds before the Speaker gavels us in.
To watch the video of just the property tax bill, click on SF 295 below the video screen.
For more information on these and other bills: www.legis.iowa.gov
-Tom Sands