First and foremost, I hope you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving. We have been entrusted with so much in this great country and state. I am thankful for my wife and family and the greatest nation on Earth. I recently traveled to China to discuss trade and other important issues that will affect Iowa. ...

Chief Justice Mark Cady passed away Nov. 15, 2019, from a heart attack. He was 66.  Chief Justice Cady of Fort Dodge, was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 1998. The members of the court selected him as chief justice in 2011. Chief Justice Cady was a real judge. And I do not mean that he sat in a stuffy robe, on a high pedestal, with a wig, banging a gavel around. He was a real Iowan. A worker-bee, approachable and one of the people. Just as a judge ought to be...

In 2017, the Iowa Legislature passed HF 566 which merged municipal, school districts, community college districts (merged) and area education agency boards into one date. According to a fiscal note published by the Legislative Service Agency over the prior four municipal elections the voter turnout was 21.3%. During that same time, the voter turnout for the school board elections was averaged out to 6.5%...

On Oct. 9, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) issued a press release announcing that this state agency is proposing administrative rule changes that would elevate the standard of care for companion animals in all licensed commercial facilities in Iowa.   ...

Last week was the October Administrative Rules Review Committee. I have the honor of chairing the committee that meets once a month to review rules put forth by the Executive Branch. This committee sees a wide variety boards, commissions, departments and agencies — and subsequently sees a wide variety of issues. This month, rules relating to the disinterment of human cremains were of particular interest...

On Monday Oct. 14, the three-member Revenue Estimating Conference held its fall meeting to revise state revenue projections for the current fiscal year (FY 2020) and the next budget year (FY 2021). Unlike most previous meetings, the REC had to find common ground between significantly different projections coming from the Legislative Services Agency and the Department of Management...

On Sept. 30, Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives Linda Upmeyer announced she was not going to seek re-election in 2020 and was stepping down as Speaker. This move effectively allows the incoming Speaker an opportunity to take the reins early, while still having the former Speaker in the Chamber to assist with the transition. Former Speaker Kraig Paulsen afforded the same opportunity to Speaker Upmeyer...

The Legislative Fiscal Committee met for the first time during the 2019 interim on in September. One of the major presentations was by Northeast Iowa Community College and the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, discussing their initiative to connect childcare with education and training programs for in-demand jobs. ...

Recently there has been a lot of talk about ending the electoral college and instead move to a popular vote. These talks have been brought on lately due to several of the more recent presidential races ending with an electoral victory and the popular vote going to the different candidates. Most recently President Trump won an electoral election and lost the popular vote...

The Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency (AEA) hosted a professional development course Aug. 5-6 called "School on Fire: Institute for Creativity & Innovation in Education." While it is routine for the AEAs to host professional development courses, this one was a little different. ...

The United States Department of Transportation recently announced that Iowa was awarded a $33.4 million federal Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grant. State Departments of Transportation in 25 eligible states were invited to apply under the program — by law eligible states were limited to states with population densities of less than 100 people per square-mile based on Census data...

With the first-in-the nation caucuses this winter, prominent national Democrats like Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren have continued to endorse extreme ideas and socialism. Not to be outdone by presidential candidates' far-left health care proposals, Iowa House Democrats introduced legislation last session that would force Iowans into a socialist-style, government-run health care system that would eliminate private health insurance (House File 96). ...

An issue that surfaced late during the 2019 legislative session related to "blackout" license plates.  There was a desire to create a new license plate that was entirely black. Dordt University offered a black license plate, but featured additional white lettering. There was so much interest in an entirely black plate, people purchased the Dordt plates and used specially designed blackout brackets to cover the Dordt-specific lettering thus making a pieced-together black plate...

I started thinking about Midwest values. First, I must define Midwest values because we always talk about them. What exactly are they? Midwest values include: an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, hard work, honesty, modesty, lack of pretension, your word is your bond, always lend a helping hand, never stand by and tolerate injustice or suffering, your name/reputation/character is your most prized possession, aversion to shiny objects and flashy ways (consumerism, political spin, fast talkers, etc.). ...

Iowa is in need physicians, especially in rural areas. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, Iowa ranked 46th in 2016 for the total number of physicians active in patient care per 100,000 people. The legislature made an attempt to begin addressing this issue by bolstering two scholarship funds in the education budget this year. ...

It is my pleasure to submit this letter in support of Okoboji Community Schools and Spirit Lake Community Schools desire to update the Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS) in an upcoming special election. Our Schools must update their RPS due to a recent change in the law that regulates the SAVE and I urge a YES vote during this special election...

Economic activity in the Midwest is picking up, according to a monthly survey by Creighton University. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose in June to a rating of 55.4, according to Creighton University professor Ernie Goss. The Business Conditions Index measures economic activity in nine Midwestern states, with a rating of 50.0 or higher indicating a growing economy...

On June 27, in a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering was a political question that was outside of the reach of the Supreme Court. This case involved a map in North Carolina (Republican) and a map in Maryland (Democrat) that favored the political party that drew them...

Over the last two years, the legislature has passed bipartisan mental health reform and created the state's first ever children's mental health system. These bills have been consistently regarded by mental health advocates as the most significant steps forward Iowa has ever taken to increase access to mental health services statewide...

On Tuesday, July 9, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) issued a press release in which the state agency noted that unfavorable planting conditions this spring commonly delayed, and in some cases, prevented crop planting...

The Legislative Services Agency issued their monthly revenue memo for June 2019, closing up a strong year for state revenue as collections grew 6.6%.  Through June's report, the state has taken in $7.7312 billion in net receipts in Fiscal Year 2019.  That is a $478.9 million increase over the same figure at the end of June 2018. ...

The 2019 Kids Count report was released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation last week and it showed good news for Iowa. In this 30th anniversary report, Iowa was ranked 3rd in overall Child Well-Being Support, which is comprised of indicators in four separate domains: Economic Well-Being (Iowa ranked 2nd), Education (7th), Health (8th), and Family and Community (8th)...

Governor Reynolds vetoed House File 732, which would have altered Iowa's cannabidiol program. The veto leaves Iowa's current cannabidiol law in place. HF 732 would have made several changes to 2016 law. The largest of which would be removing the 3% THC cap and allowing a person with a medical cannabidiol card to receive up to 25 grams of THC in 90 days. Patients would be responsible for managing their dosage in those 90 days and would be prohibited from receiving more in that time...

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. May was another strong month for state revenue, as tax collections were 28.1 percent higher than what was collected in May 2018. The $145 million increase in monthly collections raised the year to date growth in state revenue to 7.8 percent in Fiscal Year 2019, putting the state well ahead of the Revenue Estimating Conference’s projection of 4.8 percent growth. ...

Starting July 1, Iowa Total Care will be joining the Iowa Medicaid program and UnitedHealthcare will be leaving the program. All Medicaid members that have UnitedHealthcare have been notified with their initial assignment to either Amerigroup Iowa or Iowa Total Care. Those Medicaid members will have until June 18 to switch to the other managed care organization to be effective July 1...

Senate File 86 is a bill (now law) that places an organ donation symbol on hunting, fishing, or fur harvester licenses, similar to what is done with Iowa driver licenses. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed this bill on May 6.  Under this new law, there is an option to request that a donor symbol is added to your hunting, fishing, or fur harvester license will be added to the application for license, and future hunter education courses will include information on being an organ, tissue, or eye donor...

On Monday, May 13, Iowa Gov. Reynolds signed Senate File 599, the Iowa Hemp Act, which starts the federal-state partnership to redevelop the industrial hemp industry. Governor Reynolds in her signing letter noted that this legislation will "… allow Iowa to begin the process of entering a new agricultural marketplace for hemp. ...

Now that the 2019 session has ended, I thought it might be interesting to share a deeper dive into the state's budget.  At the end of session, supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2019 totaled $168.6 million. This amount is driven by an $150.3 million increase for Medicaid and the $15 million one-time appropriation to help communities in western Iowa recover from this spring's flooding...

This past legislative session we worked hard to ensure high quality and affordable health care in the state of Iowa. The things we did to ensure that include $4.4 million for rural hospitals, $7.7 million for child care affordability, $2.8 million for additional mental health treatment, $5.9 million for additional Department of Human Services field employees, $400,000 for rural psychiatric residencies, and $3.1 million dollars for children’s mental health...

On Tuesday, April 23, the House passed Senate File 599 by a bi-partisan 95 "aye" to 3 "nay" vote. It had previously passed the Senate 49-1. SF 599 provides the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) with the primary role of implementing operating the Iowa Hemp program. I've received a lot of questions about this program...

As you read this message the 2019 session of the Iowa Legislature has ended. There were many things that were done this year to "move Iowa forward" and we were able to have a very successful session. This last session, we were able to put taxpayers first, ensure a world class education, ensure affordable and accessible health care, revitalize rural Iowa, enhance Iowa's workforce and economy and protect public safety...

I have talked about property tax reform a few times this year and Thursday morning at 3 a.m., the Iowa House passed a historic bill that simply requires communication on how property taxes are calculated and explained to the common taxpayer. The bill that was passed out of the House and sent to the governor has several main points to it that will protect and keep taxpayers informed. The bill deals with several topics including:...

Senate File 634 is a bill about property tax transparency. I have heard from many of you lately who were concerned about your property tax assessments. It was time to take action. You deserve to know what is going on with your taxes. It should be clear and not buried deep within the depths of a government...

We are within a week or two of being done with our business at the Iowa State Capitol this year. We have had a successful legislative session and have begun the process of ending our actions for the year. Our official last day in Session is May 3. However, I don’t think we will be in Des Moines until then. We have agreed on a budget dollar amount which only spends 97.43 percent of the available dollars next fiscal year. This is not a cut in the state budget, rather a slowdown...

This week, the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously passed House File 227. This bill doubles the income limitation for the Iowa child and dependent care tax credit. This is a credit that supports working Iowa families who spend large portions of their paychecks on childcare...

Last week, Governor Reynolds and the Department of Human Services announced that negotiations with United Healthcare have ceased. Governor Reynolds cited UnitedHealthcare's demand for more money for less accountability as the reason for the breakdown...

Governor's bill on contraceptives creates a statewide standing order with the medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health and allows pharmacists to dispense initially three months of an oral contraceptive, hormonal vaginal ring or hormonal contraceptive patch, and then subsequent year supplies. This bill only applies to patients 18 years and older...

The House Labor Committee passed HF 666 requiring the State Government Efficiency Committee to review every occupational license in the state over a six year period of time and send a report to the General Assembly on which it must vote. This bill also requires licensing boards to inform individuals with a criminal record whether or not they would be eligible for an a license...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...