The 1st funnel week is coming to an end. It can be a stressful week for Legislators with pressure from constituents to pass legislation that is important to them. Not everything makes it through, however we watch what is happening in the other chamber to see if the bills that we can’t get to or are not ready for the floor come to us in another form.
I want to mention some very dangerous bills that were presented so far this year. Bills that would cost Iowan’s a tremendous amount of money, severely damage small business and family farms, and would infringe on our 2nd Amendment rights.
– Not to be outdone by the wave of socialist Medicare for All proposals, the minority party has filed their share of their own legislation to turn Iowa’s healthcare system into a government-run, socialist health care system. One proposal would make employer-provided or union-negotiated private health insurance illegal, kill thoughts of jobs across the state, bankrupt the state budget, costing taxpayers billions upon billions of dollars in higher taxes.
– Numerous bills targeted family farms and agriculture. Ag is a major part of Iowa’s rural communities and critical to the health of our economy. With a rich family history of family farming, one would think that the minority party would support our farmers and Ag community. Instead, they’re siding with radical agendas and attempting to force their own Green New Deal on Iowan’s. Several bills were introduced that would make it difficult for Iowans to go into agriculture. Bad legislation would end farming as we know it with overly burdensome regulations, increased burdensome regulations, increased costs for production and higher taxes on the family farm.
– Legislation that would propose strict restrictions on how restaurants and bars operate in our state would have caused significant damage for small locally owned bars and restaurants.. A bill introduced would hold an establishment responsible for violent behavior of people within 1.500 feet of the premises. 1,500 feet is half of the length of a football field (imagine a rental property next door or across the street from any of our establishments in the District). This bill suggests that nuisance be tied to an establishment even if there hasn’t been services rendered.
– Restricting 2nd Amendment Rights is a theme we see all too often. There are elected officials at the capitol who have long been hostile towards Iowa’s 2nd Amendment rights. This year is no exception. We have been flooded with minority party bills that would arbitrarily restrict your fundamental, individual rights. Multiple bills introduced would ban and confiscate commonly-owned firearms like shotguns and hunting rifles and pistols used for self-defense. Additionally, they have introduced legislation that would confiscate firearms from law-abiding Iowas without due process. Not on my watch!
