The headline of Week three: Governor Reynolds signed her top legislative priority into law. The highly debated Educational Savings Accounts plan passed the House and Senate after a late night of debate Monday night, landing on the Governor’s desk to be signed in front of a large crowd Tuesday morning.

This week also brought the first-floor action of the session, with three bills passing the full House chamber.

Session Priorities

Educational Savings Accounts

Governor Reynolds signed the Students First Act on Tuesday, quickly tying up her number one priority for this session. This act establishes education scholarships that can be used to pay for private school education in Iowa. Families must apply annually to access funds controlled by the Department of Education. The funds are estimated at $7,598 per pupil to be used for tuition, fees, and other education expenses. Some funding will continue to be allocated toward the student’s home public school district.

There are 41 counties in the state without a non-public school. Democrats adamantly opposed the legislation, citing the expense and inequality of access they expect as a result.

Legislators had a late night Monday debating HF 68, which ultimately passed both chambers.  The House approved the bill 55-45, with nine Republicans voting with Democrats against the bill (Bergan, Best, Bloomingdale, Ingels, Lohse, Mohr, Moore, Sieck, and Siegrist). The Senate approved the bill on a 31-18 vote, with Senators Shipley and McClintock voting with Democrats against the bill (Senator Bisignano was absent).

Governor Reynolds made the following statement about the passage:

“I am thrilled that both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate have passed the Students First Act and I look forward to signing it into law later today. For the first time, we will fund students instead of a system, a decisive step in ensuring that every child in Iowa can receive the best education possible. Parents, not the government, can now choose the education setting best suited to their child regardless of their income or zip code. With this bill, Iowa has affirmed that educational freedom belongs to all, not just those who can afford it.”

The plan will be phased in over three years based on family income:

• During the 2023-2024 school year, private school students with household incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL), currently $83,250 for a family of four, are eligible. 
• In the 2024-2025 school year, private school eligibility expands to include families with household incomes at or below 400% FPL, currently $111,000 for a family of four, is eligible.
• Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, all K-12 students in Iowa are eligible regardless of family income.

The latest piece of the conversation happened just this morning when Governor Reynolds released a statement in response to Randi Weingarten’s comments on the legislation. Weingarten is President of the American Federation of Teachers; she spoke to Fox Business, linking Reynolds’ plan to Betsy DeVos of Michigan and citing the lack of support for the bill from Iowans.

Reynolds responded, “Randi Weingarten is wrong about this, just like she was wrong about locking our kids out of the classroom during the pandemic – leading to widespread learning loss and setting back our kids for decades. Education is not a zero-sum game. And shame on Weingarten for thinking that political outcomes are what matters here. In Iowa, we’re funding students over systems and putting kids first. If the teacher’s union started thinking that way, families would be better off. With Weingarten at the helm, I know that will never happen.”

With the passage of the Educational Savings Plan, the legislature will be able to turn attention toward other priorities that have been on hold.

Other Priorities

The Governor introduced several other bills this week to address priorities outlined in her Vision for Iowa.

• Building Workforce Through Apprenticeships:  A bill supporting the Iowa Apprenticeship Council (HSB 82 / SSB 1086) seeks to establish a program to educate through on-the-job learning.
• Promoting Healthy Families and Communities:  An omnibus bill (HSB 91) addresses several of the governor’s priorities to address healthcare issues impacting the state of Iowa, including rural emergency hospitals, medical malpractice reform, parental leave, funding for Regional central of Excellence, and others.
• Protecting State Investments from ESG Practices:  A bill to protect Iowa’s investments by ensuring Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing has no place in state finances (SSB 1094); the bill requires that vestment firms that manage the state’s money must not boycott fossil fuel energy or firearms companies, or generally invest funds to further environmental, social, governance, political, or ideological interests over maximized returns. 

Tort Reform

Limiting liability in medical malpractice cases continues to be a priority for the Governor and members of the majority parties in both chambers. 

The House and Senate have both introduced bills that place caps on non-economic damages against health care providers.  In both bills, the total amount recoverable in any civil action for noneconomic damages for personal injury or death shall not exceed $250,000 unless the jury determines there is substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, or death, which would deprive the plaintiff of just compensation then the amount recoverable shall not exceed $1,000,000.

The Senate version of the Non-Economic Damages bill (SF148 formerly SSB1063) was introduced on Monday and passed through subcommittee and full committee by Thursday (passing on a party-line vote). The bill has been placed on the Senate calendar and is eligible for debate as early as next week.

Similarly, the House version of the Non-Economic Damages bill (HF102) was also fast-tracked.  Introduced on Tuesday and moving through a House subcommittee on Thursday afternoon (2-1). It is expected this bill will move through House HHS Committee early next week and can also become eligible for floor debate in Week 4 or 5.

Property Tax

With education reform behind them, the chambers and the Governor turn to property tax as a priority. HF 1 is a property tax assessment limit proposed in the House, and SSB 1056 is the Governor’s property tax bill in the Senate. Neither bill attracted much attention this week, but the Senate bill has a subcommittee meeting scheduled for Monday next week.

House Floor Work

In addition to the ESA bill, the House continued its floor work in Week 3, passing two non-controversial bills over to the Senate:

• Mental Health Practice Restrictions (HF 93) – This bill prohibits an employer from restricting the place or time a mental health professional can practice and allows professionals to contract services with a patient previously treated. The House passed the bill unanimously Thursday, and it now goes to the Senate.
• Movie Prop Money Fraud (HF 94) – Establishes penalties for fraudulently using movie prop money to get goods or services. This bill passed the House 94-1.

Executive Branch Update

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has announced three new members to her team. Bird named Deputy Attorney General for Agency Counsel David Faith, Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Health and Human Services Section Ed Bull, and Press Secretary Alyssa Brouillet to serve in the Attorney General’s office. 

Community Updates

Governor Reynolds released a statement on the school shooting in Des Moines earlier this week that killed two students and left one employee wounded in serious condition:

“I am shocked and saddened to hear about the shooting at Starts Right Here. I’ve seen first-hand how hard Will Keeps and his staff works to help at-risk kids through this alternative education program. My heart breaks for them, these kids, and their families. Kevin and I are praying for their safe recovery.”

What is next?

In Week 4 and into the coming weeks, it is anticipated that much of the conversation will be related to the passage of two major session priorities outlined above: Tort Reform and Property Tax Reform.  Once a resolution has been found on these major priorities, the legislature can turn their attention to another major undertaking–realigning government to better serve Iowans.  It is expected we will soon see a bill that completely reorganizes the executive branch structure, operations, and personnel to reduce the total number of cabinet-level departments from 37 to 16.  Aligning Government to Better Serve Iowans is another priority of Governor Reynolds announced in her Vision for Iowa.

The first major milestone of the 2023 Iowa legislative session comes in Week 5 – February 10 is the final day for individual requests for bills from Senators and Representatives.  The full 2023 Session Timetable can be found here.