Iowa Caucuses

On Monday, January 15, despite the brutal cold, Republicans gathered around the state for the first indication of the Republican Party’s nominee:

• Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses with 51% of the vote.
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21% of the vote.
• Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley finished with 19% of the vote and declared in her acceptance speech that this is now a two-person race. between herself and former President Trump.

Of the 40 Iowa delegates, Trump is expected to win 20 delegates; DeSantis is expected to win 9 delegates; Haley is expected to win 8 delegates and Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to win 3 delegates. Since then, DeSantis has dropped out and endorsed Donald Trump.

Vivek Ramaswamy finished fourth and suspended his campaign on caucus night, endorsing Donald Trump. His supporters are expected to shift toward Trump. Asa Hutchinson also suspended his campaign on caucus Monday and, over the weekend, endorsed Nikki Haley.

Legislative Activity

Legislators completed the first-floor work of the session on Wednesday, with both chambers approving a resolution (SR 102/HR 102) on “Brain Health” to address the stigma around mental health. They also adopted a resolution on Thursday morning with a non-record voice vote, proclaiming that Iowa supports Israel and condemns the Hamas attacks on October 7. A group of pro-Palestinian protestors demonstrated in the rotunda in opposition to the resolution.

In the second year of a general assembly, typically fewer bills are introduced, but this year that is not the case. Over 150 new bills were introduced last week for a total of 346 between the chambers this year so far. At this time last year, 290 bills had been introduced. Several issues that died last year have been revived with new bill introductions, indicating that legislators are coming back to the second session with the same priorities. Last Friday, January 19, was the final day for individual bill requests, meaning legislators need to have their bills submitted to the Legislative Services Agency for drafting. Bills can still be introduced by leadership, committee chairs, and full committees, but this marks the first legislative deadline of the year.

The House Commerce Committee approved four bills last week, and the House Judiciary Committee passed three. Legislative activity ended on Thursday afternoon, with another winter storm disrupting the schedule.

Area Education Agencies

The Governor announced major proposed changes to the Area Education Agencies’ funding and oversight in her Condition of the State Address last week but has changed course on a core component of that proposal. After meeting with parents, teachers, lawmakers, and advocates, the Governor’s office released a proposal that would allow the AEAs to continue to provide general education services and not be limited to disability services.

In the proposal, school districts can choose to use the AEAs, direct their special education funds to a private company, or hire employees. The language is yet to be seen by stakeholders. House Speaker Grassley said the bill will give schools more flexibility in decision-making for special education services. The House and Senate Education committees are expected to take up the bill soon.

The Governor released an open letter Friday on the topic. The release included this statement:

“Under my bill, AEAs will continue providing special education services as they do now, including Early ACCESS and Child Find. But state and federal special education funds will be controlled by Iowa’s public school districts. I’m also proposing schools get their share of AEA funding for education services.”

Behavioral Health and Mental Health

In her Condition of the State, the Governor announced a statewide Behavioral Health System Alignment. The House Health and Human Services Committee heard a presentation from the Department of Health and Human Services this week about the legislative efforts to realign the Mental Health and Disability Service (MHDS) regions, establishing a Behavioral Health Service System for Iowa. The Behavioral Health System Alignment would:

• Establish a new code chapter for Iowa’s Behavioral Health Service System.
• Integrate disability services language with Aging to concentrate focus on home and community-based long-term services and supports.
• Establish structure, function, governance, and authority for new district Administrative Service Organizations (ASO).

More information about the HHS-proposed Behavioral Health Alignment can be found here.

The legislature continues to prioritize expanding access to Mental Health. Below is a list of bills that passed just last year and were signed by the Governor:

Attorney General

Attorney General Bird filed a lawsuit against a popular social media app on Wednesday, claiming that it violates the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. Bird’s press release said that the app deceives parents about inappropriate content their children can access.

The main claims of the suit are that the social media application:

• Claims a “12+” rating in Apple’s App Store, despite frequent and intense adult content, including:
• Sexual content and nudity
• Profanity and crude humor
• Mature and suggestive themes
• Alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use
• Works around parental controls on Apple devices by wrongfully rating its app “12+”
• Violates App Store guidelines by saying harmful content is “infrequent/mild” when it is actually “frequent/intense.”
• Recommends inappropriate content to children as young as 13.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Polk County. Several other states have filed similar lawsuits, including Utah, Arkansas, and Indiana. At the federal level, this company has been contentious for claims of security risks, consumer protections, and data privacy. The U.S. Supreme Court will be deciding whether attempts by states to regulate social media platforms are constitutional.

Executive Branch Update

Governor Reynolds released her General Fund budget proposal, which includes $8.9 billion in appropriations for fiscal year 2025, an increase from $8.55 billion appropriated in the current fiscal year. The state’s net revenue would decrease by 1.1% under the proposal.

Retirement Tracker

In an election year, retirement announcements trickle in as legislators decide whether to seek re-election or not. The filing period for the June Primary Election ends on March 15, 2024.  As we near that filing deadline, additional retirements will likely be announced.

Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum announced her retirement on Friday, January 12. Senator Jochum has served Iowans at the statehouse for 30 years, as a member of the House for eight terms (first elected in 1993), and then as a Senator for four terms (elected in 2008), where she served as the Senate President in 2013. Her policy achievements include the creation of the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan (IHAP) and Children’s Health Insurance Program (HAWK-I) providing healthcare support, and educational projects like Iowa’s Early Education Program for 4-year-old children.

“I am excited to pass the torch to the next generation of leaders who will champion a brighter future for Iowa… Opting not to seek re-election to Senate District 36, I am creating space for fresh perspectives to guide our state forward. While I am not running for reelection, I am still committed to delivering a better deal for all Iowans. As the Leader of the Iowa Senate Democrats, I am confident we will secure Democratic victories across the state.”

Tom Townsend, president of the Dubuque Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, announced Friday that he would run for Jochum’s senate seat, with her endorsement.

Other announcements that have been made public:

What’s next?

Next week will bring more committee action, and continued efforts on the AEA bill, a major Governor priority, and potentially flash flooding as a warmup starts across the state next week.

The next major milestone of the 2024 legislative session comes in week 6 – February 16 is the first funnel. The full 2024 Session Timetable can be found here.