Columns

Last week was "funnel week." This is where the legislature's focus is narrowed to bills that have passed out of at least one committee in one chamber and are eligible to be debated on the floor and signed into law. If a bill fails to advance through a committee, it is considered "dead" for the session and is tabled. Oftentimes, a bill is not moved forward because it lacks support or needs improvement over the interim. The funnel does not apply to Appropriations or Ways & Means bills...

Week nine in the Iowa Senate included some of the first major debate of the year. Just this week, we passed over 30 bills out of the Senate chamber. One of the bills the Senate passed this week was Senate File 274, protecting the freedom of speech on college campuses in Iowa. ...

When I travel across house district 1, I’m often asked what the most pressing issue is facing the state. That is such a difficult question because, as you might have guessed, everyone has a different opinion. However, the one thing I hear from voters, legislators and community leaders is the issue of rural development in our state...

Week eight in the legislature was the first funnel week of the year. This deadline requires policy bills to be out of their originating chamber’s committee in order to be considered for the rest of this year. Imposing this deadline forces legislators to focus on priority bills and bills with enough support to pass the chamber. The days went by quickly with a majority of our time being in subcommittees and committees to make final decisions on bills...

In 2008, the Legislature created the SAVE Fund to help schools make much-needed investments in crumbling school infrastructure. SAVE serves as an important tool for schools to make important improvements that ensure modern facilities, safe classrooms, and state of the art technology that enhance students' educational experience...

This week, we were presented with another one of those difficult conundrums our system of laws creates from time to time. We almost had a state bill eliminating the mandate for both school nurses and school librarians. Thankfully, the bill was amended to remove the sections about nurses and librarians before being passed by its committee, according to Iowa Public Radio. ...

This was the seventh week of the 2019 legislative session, and another week busy with subcommittee meetings. Next week is the first funnel week of the year, meaning Senate bills need to be out of Senate committees in order to be considered for the rest of the year. This does not apply to bills that are in Appropriations, Ways & Means, or Government Oversight committees...

When I travel across house district 1, I’m often asked what the most pressing issue is facing the state. That is such a difficult question because, as you might have guessed, everyone has a different opinion. However, the one thing I hear from voters, legislators and community leaders is the issue of rural development in our state...

The House Government Oversight Committee met recently to follow-up on the Medicaid Managed Care Oversight legislation that was passed last year. The Committee heard from Director Jerry Foxhoven of the Department of Human Services, Alissa Weber, CEO at UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Iowa, and Jeffrey Jones, President at Amerigroup Iowa. ...

"Genuflectant omnes in plano." All kneel at the same level. It's a phrase meaning we're all the same — equal under God's rule, in its original context. The idea being we are all created equal, and to believe one of us to be greater than the other is short-sighted. I see a parallel in social accountability...

After a mild beginning to the winter season, January hit the state hard with successive snow storms that blanketed the state in snow and cold. And with it came schools closings statewide. The Department of Education doesn't keep track of days called off school for weather, so hard numbers don't exist. But anecdotally you'll hear anywhere from two days to over a dozen days called off so far this season. And that many days will present a challenge to just about every school calendar out there...

I’ve completed round one of three on the Eggs and Issues circuit across District 1. Thanks to all who have attended and asked thoughtful questions. Week 6 of the 2019 session is in the books. Committee work remains a heavy focus in anticipation of the upcoming funnel deadline. ...

Development of the state budget took a major step forward on Tuesday when House Republicans unveiled our framework for a responsible, conservative budget in Fiscal Year 2020. The House proposal provides $7.668 billion from the General Fund to state programs beginning July 1...

These goals always top the list of the most popular New Year's resolutions: Lose weight. Reduce stress. Get in shape. But don't let these resolutions clash with another common one: Manage your money better. Scammers will take advantage of your desire to improve your health. Don’t fall for phony claims peddled online or a "free trial" to try a miracle cure...

This newsletter will be a bit different than the others. I have often been asked: "What it is like to be a state legislator?" So I thought it would be a good idea to give you a brief summary of what an average day is like for me. With that said, each day is different in the state capitol. There is a general flow to each day, and that is what I hope to convey with this letter...

As we moved into the fifth week of the legislative session, subcommittee work remained the primary focus, while bills have been moving through the Senate. However, we also took up our first substantive debate on the Senate floor this week. In addition to considering several bills related to the rules of the body, we considered two important pieces of education funding. ...

Assuming the weather didn't freeze us all where we stood, a number of the faces in your local newsroom will have visited Des Moines to receive their various awards at the Iowa Better Newspaper Association Convention and Trade Show this past weekend. ...

The attention of many Iowans was focused on the work being done in the Senate this week. Several key issues being discussed this legislative session began to work their way through the process and have been the topic of many discussions at the Capitol...

We made significant progress on a couple of important issues this week at the Statehouse. Once again, weather was a detractor from our work on the Hill as it was across the state. All the while, we were working hard at doing the peoples work and making Iowa a better place. The two significant issues that were brought to light this week were school funding and judicial selection reform. ...

The Internal Revenue Service is officially accepting and processing federal tax returns for tax year 2018. The IRS expects more than 150 million individual tax returns to be filed this season and has already received several million in the opening hours...

Go ahead, list five benefits of corn. Let's see — nutrition, cleaner burning blended fuel, environmentally-friendly packing peanuts, seasonal home decor … that's more of a use, um … I need a little help. So, I'd like to take the National Corn Growers Association up on the offer they made to educate Bud Light on the benefits of corn. ...

On Monday, the House of Representatives held an election contest to settle a disputed election in House District 55. House District 55 was decided by nine votes. However, there were 29 ballots set aside because they were received by the auditor's office after election day...

This is the third newsletter I’ve written as your state senator, and unlike our Constitution, I view this newsletter as a living, breathing, and evolving document. [That’s a joke … you can laugh.] Sometimes I will go heavy and deep on particular policy issues we're considering. Sometimes I want to give you a peek behind the curtain and a more personal flavor of life in the week of a legislator...

Not too long ago, I was worried there would be no snow on the lakes for Winter Games. Then we got snow on snow on snow, as the song goes, and not a small amount was in everyone's driveway. I even saw some fill a mailbox that was left open when the plow came by one morning. So I, like many of us, shrugged on my warmest clothing and cleared the way before breakfast — or after dinner depending on which of this season's snowfalls we're discussing...

This week was a shortened week due to the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Dr. King was a brave civil rights leader who was the modern day Thomas Aquinas on issues of justice. Let us remember his example and legacy each day and not just once a year on MLK Day...

Poor Mercutio — a prime example of a man hurt most by the quarrel to which he's not part. Some have said the Shakespeare character's death in Romeo and Juliet is the point at which the classic story ceases to be an Elizabethan-aged story of two hormone-driven teenagers. In other words, it's the point at which things get serious. It's no longer funny. It's no longer adorable. It's serious...

The 88th General Assembly convened on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. I was humbled and honored to be sworn in as a member of the Iowa Senate shortly after 10 a.m. The first week in the Iowa Senate is a week of firsts – not unlike one's first week of a new school year or a new job. There is a great energy and excitement. There is a new building to get used to, new colleagues, new staff, new rules and customs, time with family and friends and a scramble to find the "perfect" desk in the Chamber...

The first week of the Iowa Legislature started on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019.  We heard from Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady and the Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard Timothy Orr. Some regard these speeches as pomp and circumstance, but they are really a time for each leader to lay out their vision to better the State of Iowa...

Did you know that 94 percent of all traffic crashes are due to driver error? These crashes are preventable and the Iowa State Patrol will be working with our enforcement partners throughout the Winter Games period to reduce these crashes. The Iowa State Patrol will be partnering with the Dickinson County Sheriff's Office and Iowa Department of Natural Resources Enforcement to add an additional traffic enforcement presence to Lakes area roads during the event...

It's now official. This particular government funding gap has caused the longest continuous shutdown on record. However, this isn't the time to gloat. Not in my opinion anyway. I'm of the opinion this should be getting fixed as soon as possible. In fact, I believe most Americans are with me on that, it's just a question of how...

Big orange snowplows should be easy to see, but in the midst of a winter snowstorm, it can become difficult. The Iowa Department of Transportation continues to make accident prevention while plowing a priority. Snowplow trucks typically travel around 35 miles per hour or less. When they hit drifts, they can throw large snow clouds around them. This can disrupt the vision of drivers in vehicles traveling around the plows and potentially create increased risks for crashes...

Journey with me, reader. Picture the sentiments of today in the frame of an era not so long ago — an era in which history was being made. A story coming to light in the early 1970s revealed truths which were thought by some to be almost impossible. Yet, within two years, that same truth was undeniable. Journey with me, reader, as John Q. Public pens a letter to his local paper. The date is Thursday, Aug. 1, 1974...

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently launched its first health Application Programming Interface (API) that will power "Blue Button" features. Blue Button is a national movement that provides easier access to one's own health information in a format that they can use...

Our government has had budget legislation on the books for quite some time now, but it didn't lead to a government shutdown until Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" bumped "Shake, Shake, Shake" by KC and the Sunshine Band from the top of the billboard. ...

I often receive questions about the regulations of school lunch programs. While the state has very little jurisdiction here, the federal government recently announced revised school lunch regulations. The most problematic of the 2012 regulations included these changes: ...

Recently, House Republicans participated in the first of two Medicaid managed care oversight meetings. At this first meeting, members of the Health Policy Oversight Committee heard from the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) on how the capitation payments to the MCOs are calculated. ...

In a July 21, 2017, memo the secretary of defense, James Mattis, made promising comments about his ambitions to end wasteful spending at the Pentagon. He wrote that he expected "leaders at all levels in the department to exercise the utmost degree of stewardship over every penny” spent and that "only by instilling budget discipline, by establishing a culture of cost awareness, and by holding ourselves accountable, can we earn the trust and confidence of the Congress and the American people that we are the best possible stewards of taxpayer dollars.". ...

Despite it being just a few days until Christmas, I've personally come across a higher-than-average number of comments pointing the finger at the "liberal media" — frankly, at this point, that just comes with the job. The New Year's not too far away, and we're still convinced stories are meant to dupe the masses, rather than display the truth. Emotional appeals, rather than cold hard facts...

I couldn’t be happier to make the following announcement: Congress has passed a Farm Bill that I fully support because this legislation meets rural America’s most pressing needs. As I meet with my Agriculture Leadership Committees throughout the 4th District, they provide me with important first-hand accounts of the difficulties our producers face. ...

A new tax year is almost here, and with that the bulk of the individual income tax changes from the 2018 tax reform law become effective. Particularly in light of federal tax reform, state tax reform was prioritized last session to fix the outdated and overly complex tax code-and one of the most important reforms was an average tax cut of 10 percent in tax year 2019. ...

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley's remarks after the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill make me fairly proud to be an Iowan. It's not even that I necessarily agree with what he said, though I gotta admit it's hard to argue with him. What really makes me proud is that he pointed out a problem he sees in the system without degrading his colleagues. I'd say he was angry, but he wasn't rude. He was critical, clear and direct, but didn't mince words — somehow seems appropriate for Iowa...

State revenue collections in November continued to come in higher than projected, although at a slower pace than the previous two months, according to the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency. For the month, state revenue rose 1.9 percent over what was received in November 2017. ...

The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) held its December meeting on Dec. 13. This is the meeting where the official revenue estimate is set for the next fiscal year. All three members of  the REC had fairly positive comments about the current state of the economy and what they see for Iowa in the near future. The positive outlook on Iowa's economy showed with the slight changes the panel made to their FY 2019 and FY 2020 estimates from October...

  A couple years ago, I received a letter from an Iowan whose son had a severe peanut allergy. She wrote about how the price of an EpiPen, a popular anti-allergy prescription drug device, had skyrocketed. Though she and her family couldn't afford the dramatic increase, she wrote that she would "pay whatever it takes" to keep her son healthy...

Starting Dec. 1, patients with medical cannabidiol cards were able to purchase cannabidiol from five places across the state. A person diagnosed with a qualifying condition can ask their primary physician to recommend them for a medical cannabidiol card. The following conditions can qualify a person for a card:...

In this ever-changing world in which we're living, song lyrics can come back and bite you. It's nearing Christmas time, and the holiday touchstone "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is being put on the black list for some on the airwaves. Which of course is making folks mad. ...

Well, zis, boom, bah. Two of the uncertainties hanging over the heads of Iowa ag producers are on a bit more solid footing this week. Not only did the United State Mexico Canada Agreement get signed by President Trump as a replacement for the former North American Free Trade Agreement, but the Environmental Protective Agency announced this coming year's renewable fuel volumes obligations. ...

It is with mixed emotion I write informing you that I have accepted a promotion to the rank of sergeant.  This promotion will be located in our Spencer office, within ISP enforcement operations. As I look back over 14 years in the educational/public relations side of law enforcement, I am reminded of several great programs we developed: "Ask a Trooper," "The Patrol Post," "Windshield Time," as well as many live radio programs. ...

Q: Why do you offer internship opportunities in your Senate offices?   A: Throughout my public service, I have worked to engage younger generations to actively participate in civic life. For the last 38 years, I have held at least one meeting in each of Iowa's 99 counties to seek feedback from Iowans. ...

This week, State Auditor Mary Mosiman released a report confirming $126 million in FY 2018 Medicaid savings from the transition to managed care. The review was completed by three CPAs in the State Auditor's office, two additional auditors in the office, and confirmed by the Deputy Auditor of State, Andy Nielsen. ...