The 2024 Iowa legislative session is underway, and it feels like we are off to a running start, and we fortunately made it home before the latest storm really got going!
Along with committee meetings, and other regular senate activities, we heard speeches from Governor Kim Reynolds, the Supreme Court chief justice Susan Christensen, and Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Stephen Osborne. Each gave their review of the past year, expressed their organizational vision and charted a course for the coming year and beyond. All of them described successes and challenges from the past year and expressed confidence that the institution in their care was healthy and sound.
Governor Reynold’s State of the State address was the most significant, as she presented several proposals for legislative consideration this session, with the most important topics being 1) Education – increased teacher salaries and AEA reform, 2) Taxes – accelerated and further reduced income tax rates, 3) Family – a proposal to increase support for increased maternal leave for lower income Iowa mothers.
The bill to reform the Area Education Agencies is now out and I continue to hear from constituents, educators and AEA professionals about the perceived impacts of the bill as presented or as described in social media and beyond. While I am not on the education committee, I have started reviewing the bill and look forward to the legislative debate on the topic.
This first week in the capitol brought a few rallies to the rotunda, with multiple presidential candidates participating along with several Iowa legislators – Moms for Liberty focused on protecting our children’s innocence and the Free Soil Coalition which challenged the state to protect land rights and oppose the threatened use of eminent domain for multiple CO2 pipeline projects across our state (and beyond). I agree with the many speakers who identified the false narratives being used to justify these pipelines and see them as a serious threat to Constitutional private property rights.
One note of interest this week was a decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals who determined agricultural trespass laws passed in recent years by the Iowa legislature were constitutional and enforceable in Iowa – a win for farmers across my district and the state which properly ruled that extremist tactics of anti-agriculture activists to trespass and fraudulently spy and slander ag operations could be prosecuted in Iowa.
One issue I am working on this year is advocating that Iowa create a state gold-backed currency. As we watch our federal government spend and inflate with no fiscal limits, and the threat of a CBDC (central bank digital currency) “solution” that would curtail any privacy or freedom – we need a state-controlled safe and convenient non-fiat alternative for everyday Iowans. See https://transactionalgold.com/ia for more info.
Some other issues I am working on include protecting our children from the clearly detrimental effects of social media at young ages and enforcing age verification for access to online pornography. Another goal is to simplify requirements for vaccination exemptions along with more transparency regarding related health outcome data.
With a second winter storm raging across the state, I am thankful for a consistent power grid, pray that everyone stays inside and safe, and once the wind subsides on Monday encourage voters to get out that evening to participate in the Iowa caucus (but do be safe, it is going to be COLD!).
Thank you for the opportunity to represent Iowa Senate district 7.
