2004 Session: The year the Legislature stopped listening to Iowans

A Statement by State Senator Mike Gronstol

“The 2004 session was the year that the Republican-controlled Legislature stopped listening to Iowans.”

“On the issues that matter most to a majority of Iowans – jobs, education, health care, and taxes – there was little or nothing done during the session that recently adjourned for the year. I supported common-sense alternatives that would have balanced the state budget without cutting important services.  Unfortunately, those efforts did not succeed. The result is the quality of life will not improve for thousands of Iowa families, schoolchildren, workers, farmers, small business owners, educators, seniors, and property taxpayers.”

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Brasher: No new taxes good news for business
Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil

The 2004 Iowa legislative session “could have been better, could have been worse” for small business issues, a spokesman said Thursday.

Obviously, at the top of the list for positives is lawmakers didn't raise taxes, said Dave Brasher, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

Before the start of the session in January, Brasher expressed concern that the lawmakers would vote to require small business owners to pay sales tax when they pay professional service providers, such as accountants, tax preparers or financial planners. It was considered a way to bring in more money to a cash-strapped budget. That did not happen.

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Iowa Lawmaking: Somewhat less secrecy
First Amendment Center

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Legislature made some progress in opening its process to the public this year – but there's still room for improvement, according to advocates of open government.

The improvement came after two years of what was considered a move toward greater secrecy in the legislative process.

“Overall, I think definitely it's been better than it was last year,” said Judie Hoffman, a lobbyist for the League of Women Voters of Iowa.

At issue is the posting of times and locations of meetings on important issues. Secrecy at the Statehouse increased two years ago, when lawmakers began using bipartisan “working groups” to discuss key issues privately before they became public.

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