This week started off on a somber note as we mourned the loss of Rep. Martin Graber. We were sorry to hear the news of his sudden passing late last week. He was a valued member of the Iowa legislature, and he will be missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family as they grieve their loss, and as they laid Rep. Graber to rest on Tuesday.
Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Decision
One of the most notable features of this fourth week was deciding on the casino moratorium bill that the House sent over to us late last week. As the chairman of the State Government Committee, it fell to me to manage the direction of the bill. These are difficult decisions for me because of my dislike for the very significant gambling activities in Iowa. But in the end, it was apparent there was not enough support in the Senate to legislatively dictate the Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission deny the Cedar River Crossing project in Cedar Rapids, rather than let them make that decision as they are tasked to do. So I made the following announcement at the 4:00 pm Tuesday State Government committee meeting:
“Today, I chose not to bring forward HF144 in committee. I am no fan of gambling and my decision not to advance this legislation should not be considered in support of casino expansion. According to my conversations, this bill did not have enough support from Senate Republicans to advance all the way through the Senate process. In the interest of moving this session forward to other issues of critical importance to Iowans, I have no plans to reconsider the legislation for the remainder of this session.”
Gov. Reynolds’ Proposals
As we continue our work on bills, we are still receiving proposals from the governor’s office. Governor Reynolds introduced a bill this past week aimed at enhancing math proficiency and civics education for students. This plan specifically supports students on an individual basis who are struggling to meet proficiency standards and provides teachers with the necessary resources to achieve the new standard for educational success in Iowa. The bill will also require high school students to score 60 percent or higher on a U.S civics test to graduate. Iowa continues to build on our educational successes and improvements to the system. These programs would raise expectations and ensure students and teachers are focused on the critical aspects of education so that they can achieve success in the classroom.
Governor Reynolds has also introduced a comprehensive energy bill aimed at enhancing the state’s energy leadership and further development for rising energy demands. Specifics of the bill’s goals include maintaining low electricity prices and strengthening the grid throughout the state. While Iowa ranks high in power grid reliability, while managing to keep prices low for consumers, we need to be looking at how we can maintain affordable and reliable energy for Iowans. This has become an increasingly important issue as demand for energy grows, and we will be looking into her proposal as we make sure Iowans and their families can continue to depend on reliable and affordable energy.
Saving Taxpayer Money
In 2023, the Iowa legislature passed a massive government reorganization bill with the goal of making government more efficient, aligning similar departments, and eliminating redundancies. While it was estimated to save a significant amount of money over the next several years, the governor announced in her Condition of the State speech this year that it had already saved Iowa taxpayers $217 million over 18 months. A report released this week by Common Sense Institute says that government reorganization policy helped us accelerate the income tax cuts Republicans had passed and helped Iowa continue down a path of growth and success.
