The legislature picked up the pace in week 14 as a real push toward the end of session began. The House and Senate spent extensive time on the floor, working to clear their calendars—which included several controversial bills—while the appropriations committees and subcommittees were busy advancing budget bills. The House debated 12 bills and the Senate debated 29. Combined, the chambers sent 22 bills to the Governor’s desk, and she signed 40 into law, the most she has signed in a single week yet this session.
Highlights:
Boards and Commissions Review Committee (BCRC)
The Senate passed the BCRC bill on Wednesday. SF 2385 as amended by S-5132 passed on a party-line vote after other amendments from Democrats were declined. Debate centered around the importance of Iowans having a voice in state government through the state boards and commissions. Floor manager Senator Cournoyer said that the duties and responsibilities of these boards are simply being consolidated. The House companion is on the debate calendar but was not called up this week. The House and Senate will have to reconcile the two different versions of this bill since the Senate eliminates and merges more groups than the House.
Constitutional Income Tax Amendment
On Wednesday, the Senate approved a proposed constitutional amendment changing the required vote to raise income tax rates in Iowa from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority. HJR 2006 is a joint resolution, so it takes a different path to enactment than a bill: having passed the House and Senate this year, it must be passed during the consecutive General Assembly to be considered on the ballot by voters. The proposal is a priority among Republican legislators to increase the threshold needed to raise income taxes.
Budget Activity
All the budget bills, except for the House Education Appropriation, have been introduced by both chambers (except for the Standings Appropriation bill). More significantly, all of the Senate bills have received approval by the full Senate Appropriations Committee—these bills will become floor-eligible when legislators return to the Capitol next week. This allows for the possibility of budget agreements to be amended into budgets on the floor before the bills are sent over to the House.
The House is maintaining a similar clip, introducing many of their budgets with an LSB number—these bills will receive a bill number when they are reprinted after receiving the approval of the full House Appropriations Committee. At this time, only the Transportation and RIIF Budgets have been approved by the full House Appropriations Committee. The final House Appropriations block of the week was canceled—which can be interpreted many ways, but we hope means that productive negotiations are happening behind the scenes.
The House initially proposed a budget of $8.955 billion and the Senate proposed $8.872 billion, an $82 million difference. Negotiations on developing joint budget targets continue.
Executive Branch Update
The Governor signed 40 bills into law this week, including a law making illegal immigration a state crime, a new regulation on construction topsoil and stormwater, and changes to oversight for the More Options for Maternal Support (MOMS) program.
The Governor also signed SF 2204 into law, which closes a loophole allowing foreign entities to have an ownership interest in Iowa farmland. The law establishes state-level registration and reporting requirements for foreign entities.
The Governor released a statement on the passage of this priority:
“Iowa’s laws on foreign ownership of land have long been recognized as some of the strongest in the nation, with other states looking to us when crafting their own policies. Yet, in the decades since we first addressed this issue, adversaries like China have grown significantly more aggressive on the world stage, constantly looking for any opening to assert themselves at the expense of our country. One all-too-common weapon in this battle is the purchase of American farmland.
Governor Reynolds announced $900,000 in federal ARPA funds toward summer child nutrition programs. Summer meals will be available via private and community organizations in areas where at least 50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Reimbursements will be up to $10,000 for the first new site and $5,000 for each additional site. Current summer meal sponsors may apply for $20,000 and new sponsors can apply for $30,000.
The Governor’s statement said:
“Providing young Iowans with access to free, nutritious meals in their communities during the summer months has always been a priority. With the Summer Meal Program Expansion Grant, we will expand these well-established programs across our state to ensure Iowa’s youth have meals that are healthy and use local community farms and vendors when possible.”
Bills Signed into Law
Soil Temperature
Soil temperatures in the state have finally broken 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the southern half of the state, the ideal temperature to begin planting corn and soybeans. According to Iowa State University Soil Monitoring, the current soil temperatures are in the low 50s in the south and high 40s in the north this week. This metric remains a great indicator of when the farmers in the legislature will become eager to wrap up the legislative session and get into the fields to start planting.
What’s next?
The end of session is in sight, though there are still potentially some outstanding tax proposals lingering and final negotiations on major policy items. Budget conversations continue between appropriators as the House and Senate continue to finalize their budget bills. The scheduled 100th day of the session is Tuesday, April 16. The final day of session is typically after this date; the legislature has not wrapped up on time or early since 2019 when they adjourned a week early… next week may bring the last full week of session.
The full 2024 Session Timetable can be found here.
