Category: Iowa

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News from the Hill…

The first bill to the Governor for his signing lowers Iowans taxes and the passage of this bill early in session will save the state approximately $400,000.  We have completed our fourth week in session, which is the half way mark for the first funnel date.  This week the house had its first debate on the house floor.  The first bill debated, HF 110/SF 106, came from the Ways and Means Committee.  I assigned this bill to my vice-chair; he is in his first year in the legislature.  So this was his first experience in running a bill through the process.  HF 110 updates the Code of Iowa to incorporate changes to the federal Internal Revenue Code (IRC) enacted by Congress for the period of January 1, 2012, through January 1, 2013, including the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.  The bill did not couple with certain bonus depreciation provisions.  The bill passed the senate 48-0 and passed the house 99-0.  The bill is heading to the Governor for his signing.  This is important for Iowa taxpayers and tax preparers as they are busy preparing tax returns now.

Public Safety…

One of the bills we passed in the House Public Safety Committee this week, HSB 49, is a study bill for establishing a child endangerment offense for the mother of a newborn child who caused an illegal drug to be present in the newborn child’s body, and providing a penalty.  This bill passed out of committee with 15 voting aye and 6 voting nay.  The intent of this bill is to deter pregnant women from taking drugs and to seek treatment.  I am not sure if this bill is the solution, but we all agree there is a growing problem.  I voted for this bill in committee.

Drainage & Levee District Consolidation…

This week the House Ag Committee passed HF 49, which is a bill I filed on behalf of the Two Rivers Levee & Drainage Association.  HF 49 allows three drainage districts and a levee district to consolidate into one new encompassing district by a unanimous vote.  The measure creates a new provision that provides authority for a consolidation of districts governed by elected trustees if the size of the new district is larger than 35,000 acres and it has a pumping station.  The purpose for this legislation is to enable greater administrative and operational efficiency of operation of four cooperating existing districts which has been essentially functioning the last several years as if it were one entity, sharing employees and equipment.   The bill is drafted to go into effect upon enactment and it is heading to the House Floor for debate.

Revenue Growth Continues…

The Legislative Services Agency released the January 2013 Revenue report on Friday afternoon, and state revenue continues to outpace the official projections.

State revenue for January was 9.0 percent higher than January 2012.   For the year, revenue is running at 9.1% growth, significantly higher than the 3.3% projected by the Revenue Estimating Conference last December 12^th.  In terms of dollars, the first seven months have produced an additional $313.7 million in revenue.  The REC projection is for revenue growth of $204.4 million for the entire year.  Most of the growth is coming from personal income tax receipts.

Projected Growth to Slow Down…

The monthly survey of business leaders and supply managers conducted by Creighton University shows that growth is expected to be slow for the next three to sixth months.  The overall index rose to 53.2 for the month of January, up from December’s 49.5. The index represents a range from 0-100, with values below 50 showing negative movement, values above 50 showing positive growth, and an index of 50 represents neutrality, neither growing nor declining.  The Mid-America Business Conditions Index encompasses a nine-state region, including Iowa.  While growth may be expected the present growth is not expected to continue.  As governments are preparing their budgets this is good information to have.  The worse possible practice is to spend everything when times are good, because the cupboard is bare when times get bad.

Let me know what you think…

I always like to hear feedback on issues that are important to you.  I can serve you best when I know what is important to you.

“We should measure welfare’s success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.” – Ronald Reagan

For more information on these and other bills:  www.legis.iowa.gov

-Tom Sands