Guest Columns
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Last week we took action on two major pieces of legislation – combating illegal immigration and fighting against eminent domain abuse. more
Changes to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) have been a central focus of many Iowans this year. The reality is this - the status quo of Iowa’s special education system is not good enough, and something has to change. It is not just the legislature that thinks so. The federal government has designated our state as “needs improvement” and is starting in-state monitoring this fall. more
I wanted to begin the column by thanking all of the citizens who attended my Listening Posts and forums this year. We held over 12 events in three different counties. Of course, you always have the occasional person there who wants to score political points through disruption or a litany of loaded questions but the overwhelming majority of people were thoughtful concerned citizens with great ideas! Thank you. I learn from these experiences. more
Iowans found their way back to the state’s 19 casinos in February, as gaming tax payments rebounded from January’s dip. more
Our second legislative deadline has passed, which means we had another busy week working on moving House bills through the Iowa Senate. Policy bills are required at this time to be through a committee in the opposite chamber to be considered for the rest of the legislative session. more
Last week, the House of Representatives had a busy week of debate. more
The Iowa House unanimously passed House File 2581, a bill to make changes to the Iowa One Call system. Iowa One Call is the 8-1-1 phone number that Iowans call before they dig to ensure that underground utilities are not harmed. The Iowa One Call system currently processes over 540,000 tickets and coordinates more than 2.7 million locate requests per year throughout Iowa. more
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature say they don’t want politics in your kid’s classroom. But that’s not true. They don’t mind politics in your kid’s classroom—as long as it’s their politics. more
Last week was filled with idea exchange, constituent input and debate/decision, below are the detailed  results of that work along with a few additional highlights of activities in committee. more
Our second legislative deadline for this year’s legislative session is getting closer. The eighth week of the session focused on debate, as well as starting our work on the bills we’ve received from the House of Representatives. more
The Iowa Senate concluded our first big deadline of the session, and last week we focused on floor debate. In between debates, I had the opportunity to meet with AEA members to continue the discussion about the proposed legislation. more
On Feb. 19, the Iowa House of Representatives started debate, and I managed a bill on the floor that I introduced this session, House File 2249. more
Following our first legislative deadline last week, the seventh week of session in the Iowa Senate focused on floor debate. After bills pass the Senate, they are sent to the House of Representatives for their consideration. more
The Taxpayer Relief Fund now has a $3.6772 billion balance in its account, affirming Iowa’s sound fiscal management over the last 10 years with the current majority. more
The 2016 election marked a turning point in American politics. One noteworthy example was the increase in the number of women running for office. more
Keeping students safe in schools is a top priority for House Republicans for all Iowans. That’s why the Public Safety Committee advanced House Study Bill 675 to ensure students have the protection they deserve all day. HSB 675 has two parts, the first addresses the need for school resources officers inside buildings and the second creates a professional weapons permit and with extensive training for school employees. more
The sixth week at the Iowa Senate included one of the first major deadlines, which kept us busy with many subcommittees and committees to pass legislation through its first hurdle. This meant we covered a wide range of issues while we worked towards that deadline. more
The sixth week of the legislative session included our first deadline of the year, keeping us busy in subcommittee and committee meetings as we worked to get important legislation covering a wide range of issues through our first hurdle. more
Last week was a busy one for me in the Judiciary and State Government committees so I will write about three important bills in these committees. I have heard a lot about these issues from all of you. more
His shirt wasn’t always buttoned for the day when I would walk into class ahead of the bell. more
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