We have begun the 91st General Assembly with moving bills and drafting some. I have had subcommittee meetings already which I’m not sure I ever had the first week.
I don’t have many bill requests submitted but one I hope to get to the finish line involves tuition fees at state universities and community colleges for veterans who have 100 percent disability. These fees would be waived for kids of these veterans. Anything we can do to support these families that have already sacrificed enough should have a priority. The idea came to me from a veteran who has seen what other states have done and thinks we should do this in Iowa. I agree.
There has been much discussion about the use of cell phones in school. It’s a situation that is about 5 years late being brought up but better late than never. Several schools have already started putting guardrails on their use. Some schools want us to address it so there is a standard policy across the state. Regardless something ought to be done. On rare occasions a parent will say they may need to contact their student at school. I believe they still can. Call the school office and leave a message. We have convinced ourselves that everyone needs to be able to connect with anyone immediately. But, when we weren’t connected all the time, we were more civil, knew our neighbors, actually talked to each other and certainly weren’t exposed to such much negative information. Limiting use of cell phones can be a start to getting back to that.
In line with that is hands free driving. Again, before we were connected all the time, we managed just fine waiting to return a message left for us. We know there are scores of accidents and many fatalities due to people absorbed in their phone. There isn’t much left to discuss about it. It’s being used in other states and Iowa needs be next.
One subject that will be taking time will be the discussion around foreign animal disease and the huge threat it poses to Iowa’s economy. If certain diseases like African Swine Fever or Foot and Mouth disease were to hit this country, our way of life – rural and urban – would be altered quickly. We will be working with Iowa Department of Agriculture to try and fund a mechanism to deal with it.
The IPERS system issued a report this week and we will all be glad to know it is absolutely secure. While there are those who want to paint a picture that it will be changed or even scrapped, those statements are irresponsible and blatantly false. This “story” is usually spread by those who want scare people into joining their group and sending money.
YOUR IPERS IS SAFE!
