The first week of the 84Th General Assembly has not lacked in activity. So often the first weeks consist of formalities and getting settled. On the House side, our elected officials hit the ground running. - Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber highlighted a number of the House Republican priorities in the first bills introduced. House Study Bill 1 which is now HF45 has been titled the Taxpayers First Act. This bill de-appropriates a number of programs and budget lines.
Click here to review HF45
HF45 (HSB 1) has already been passed out of the House Appropriations Committee on a party line vote and is eligible for debate as early as next Wednesday. A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, January 18 at 6:30 pm in the House Chambers. The bill is expected to pass the full house but the fate in the Senate is unknown.
Other bills in the first ten House Bills of interest to us include House File 4 and House File 9. HF 4 reduces the income tax for all brackets by 20%. This bill is in Ways and Means and we are interested in any input from you on this proposal.
Click here to review HF4
HF 9 is more complicated. This bill defines essential services for local governments and requires they be listed in a budget summary of a local government. In case of budget cuts it requires local governments to cut NON essential services first. The bill also increases the school aid foundation to 100% over seven years. There is still research being done on the impact of this bill but the Chamber has advocated for cutting the commercial and industrial property tax burden for years.
Click here to review HF 9
We saw the first in bills for continued flood recovery work with Senator Hogg introducing SF19 which helps with access to program assistance with the Iowa Department of Economic Development in disaster areas.
Note that the web site for the legislature has changed. It is a very user friendly site and the new address is http://www.legis.iowa.gov/index.aspx. This is a great resource for finding more details on bills of interest and schedules at the Capitol.
The State of Iowa has a new Governor, though he will be serving his fifth term, after serving four terms from 1983 to 1999.
Welcoming Branstad -KIMT
MASON CITY, IA - Terry Branstad spoke to Iowans Friday in his first speech as governor. He outlined a need for everyone to pull together to boost Iowa's ...
Branstad vows to cut Iowa state spending, taxes - Bloomberg
Branstad signs labor agreement voting rights order - Chicago Tribune
Branstad calls Iowa to greatness in inaugural speech - Mason City Globe Gazette
Kraig Paulsen, a State Representative representing a Northern district in Linn County, was installed as Speaker of the House for the 84Th General Assembly. Rep. Paulsen becomes the 71st Speaker of the House for the State of Iowa.
His newsletter spoke about "The Taxpayers First Act as it passed committee saves Iowa taxpayers over a half a billion dollars in addition to setting aside $327 million in tax relief. The bill also provides $25 million to support un-funded state commitment to remove Iowans from wait lists for mental health services – a core responsibility the state must deliver to Iowans in need of service."
Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley said the following about State Government this week:
For the past several years, government has only continued to grow – further
encroaching into our lives at the expense of freedom, liberty and independence.
Spending has spiraled out-of-control, debt has grown at alarming rates,
taxes have only gone higher and barriers to job creation have been added instead
of removed.
Elected officials had stopped listening to the collective
voices of the people – seniors, entrepreneurs, small business owners, employers
and others who had elected them as their voice and their vote.
As a
result, the people spoke – and spoke loudly and clearly. They said:
Give us
back our government and listen.
Do not spend more than our government
takes in.
Be as careful with our tax dollars as you are with your own.
Hold the line on taxes and give us some tax relief.
Quit letting
the government pick winners and losers and instead reignite the engine of
economic growth – the small businesses, entrepreneurs and employers that create
two out of every three new jobs.
Give us a vote on the basic definition
of marriage, protect life, be responsive and do all you can to promote
opportunity, prosperity and freedom.
As was highlighted in a previous blog post earlier in the week, State Senator Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, offered two bills out of the Senate this week.
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