West Burlington, Iowa

Click here: Bernie Sanders promises to end “a rigged economy” with Socialism, which is the very definition of a rigged economy.

During the last debate, the future of the Democratic Party is two angry old leftists screaming at each other for two hours to decide who hates free market capitalism more. 

Caucus Night…

Week four has been different than most week fours. Monday the legislature was not in session so all of the legislators could be back home in their respective districts to attend their own caucuses. Our precinct caucus was one of the biggest crowds we have experienced. Our rural caucus had 135 voters cast a ballot with another five that were minors or not voting.   This is true grassroots politics and the presidential selection process has begun. Some have asked why independents do not get to participate. First of all Iowa does not have a voter registration for independents. They register no-party. Second, they can participate if they choose to change their registration to one of the political parties; they can always change back to no-party after the caucus. In addition, why would a no-party register get to participate in a selection process for the nominee of president for a particular party? At our precinct caucus approximately 40% of the ballots cast were either first time registers or people changing their registrations to participate in the republican caucus. Several had never been to a caucus before. It was good to see the room full, people willing to participate and most were patient with the process. Personally, we may agree or disagree on those who finished in the top few positions, but I think we can all agree that Iowa should be the first in the Nation and our people put a lot of time and thoughtful consideration into their own selection process. Fellow Iowans you made me proud once again to be an Iowan.

News from the Hill…

I am not sure when we became a society of wimps, but Tuesday there were few legislators in the Iowa House Chamber because of a typical winter storm. The Iowa Senate did not even meet and was called off in advance. My wife and I left immediately after the caucus on Monday night to head back to Des Moines to beat the storm if in fact it would hit. Consequently I was able to get lots done in the Chamber with only about a third of the members present.

Broadband Rules…

Last year the bill to help incentivize the buildout of broadband in underserved areas was passed and went into effect July 1, 2015. The rules on the implantation of that bill are just now being written and will soon be submitted for public viewing and comment. I have been able to read the proposed rules and sit-down with the department of revenue to discuss some of the proposals and methodologies in determining contributory value. There seems to be a difference of opinion between some of the companies who own the fiber or broadband and the department who will determine that fiber’s value. I find myself in the middle of these discussions most of the time.

Water Quality…

There seems to be more discussion on should the State be doing more/spending more money on water quality. Everyone wants and expects to have good quality and safe drinking water at their immediate disposal. As humans everything we consume turns into waste, so we all attribute to the problem. So how do we all share in the solution? Unfortunately, when the Des Moines Water works filed a law suit, in my opinion simply for political gain, it immediately caused people to draw lines in the sand and take sides. This is not the best way to motivate people in finding serious solutions to a problem we are all somewhat responsible for creating. However, there are several people trying to come together and sit down at the same table to share a wide variety of ideas, finding solutions that are reasonable, workable and affordable to move forward. It often takes a healthy disagreement that leads to a discussion to find the best workable solution. Seldom do law suits that create divisions ever lead to anything but money being wasted on lots of things, except the very solutions they were supposed to be about in the first place. Discussion is an exchange of knowledge, an argument an exchange of ignorance.

“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” – Abraham Lincoln

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

Until next time,

Tom Sands

This week’s forums:   Saturday, February 6th

9:00 – 10:30 AM             Muscatine Community College Student Center

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM    State Bank of Wapello Community Room

News from the Hill…

This week on Monday evening the Iowa House debated and passed the two bills that set the increase in the amount local school districts can spend in the foundation formula. Thursday morning the Iowa House debated and passed the bill that decides how Iowa will “couple” with the Federal Tax Code changes made in December. All three of these bills are highlighted in greater detail below.

Increase in School Funding…

The Senate passed a 4 percent increase in supplemental state aid last year and the House passed a 2 percent increase last year. Unfortunately both bills didn’t get any action in the opposite chamber last year. Their passage would set the per pupil amount for fiscal year 2017 for the school foundation formula which allows to schools to spend out of their general fund. Local and state governments are busy preparing their budgets presently for that fiscal year. This year with there appears to be a great focus on coming to a quicker reconciliation for that amount to be set. This week the House debated the Senate’s version and then amended the 4 percent growth to two percent growth. Then messaged it immediately back to the Senate. The Senate rejected our amendment, but there has been a conference committee set and most likely they will meet this next week. The Governors proposal was an increase of 2.45 percent. The three different proposals may not seem that far apart, the dollar difference is quite telling. The cost to the taxpayers of Iowa for each percentage is as follows; a two percent increase would be $81 million, a 2.45 percent increase would be $98 million and a 4 percent increase would be $155 million. The two Senate Files are SF 174 and SF 175.

Tax preparers and Taxpayers need Action…

The bill that updates Iowa tax code with the Federal Tax Code is one of the first bills that need to be acted on. The bill was the first to be assigned and debated in the Ways and Means Committee. The bill, House File 2092 was debated and passed on Thursday morning. This bill affects the tax year of 2015. So many tax preparers and taxpayers are expecting and needing quick action so they can complete the tax forms. The bill is extremely important to small businesses that have made capital purchases in 2015. One of the features of the bill is it increases the amount to can qualify for section 179 expensing from a $25,000 amount up to $500,000. This bill is consistent to what we have been doing for the last several years and taxpayers have been counting on this consistency with the Federal Tax Code. This bill passed the Iowa House with 82 voting aye, 14 nay and 4 absent or not voting. I voted for this bill.

Education SAVE Fund…

One of the issues that undoubtedly will get some discussion this session is the sunset of the one percent sales tax increase that was passed in 2008. The sunset for the sales tax at 6 percent is set for January 1, 2029. At that time the sales tax would be reduced to what it was in 1998, 5 percent. This code change replaced the old local option sales tax known as SILO, which was first established in 1998. The original SILO was changed in a significant way in 2003 before it was ended and replaced with present the law. The law change that occurred in 2008 was a deeply divided topic, which cut deep wounds and created deep divisions inside the House Republican Caucus. I can only assume this was true for the Senate and House Democrats as well. But I know first hand of the division in the House Republican Caucus. I was the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Caucus at that time and was in the middle of the discussion. As of Thursday there have been three bills that have been filed on this topic. I personally know of one more that is coming, the Governor’s proposal that he has talked about in the press. Two of the bills are in the Education Committee and one is the Ways and Means Committee. But in order for any of them to be debated in the House they will all have to travel through the Ways and Means Committee. Looks like I will be in the middle of the discussion this time also. But now I am the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, so hang on to your hat.

“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.” – Ronald Reagan

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

Until next time,

Tom Sands