Iowa
State Capitol News – Weekend Recap
State Capitol News – Weekend Recap
by Paul Deaton
[Editors'
Note: Following
is a weekly recap of stories from Des Moines that
came through the Weekend Editor's in-box in the third week of the
legislative session. Check out the House Democrats page for a different
take on the week here. Senate Democrats are here. Watch for this feature every Saturday while the legislature is in
session.]
Governor Branstad Presented Two Year Budget to the Iowa Legislature
In a speech without embellishment, Governor Branstad presented his two year budget to the Iowa Legislature on Thursday. There were no surprises or profundities and his goal is four fold: “create 200,000 jobs for Iowans, increase family income by 25%, restore Iowa's educational system to #1 in the nation and reduce the cost of government by 15%.” It is hard for anyone to argue with these goals. How the budget details will be finalized is an open question, partly reliant on HF45, which was referred to the Senate committee on Rules and Administration on January 20th. With early attention to HF45 and now the governor's speech, the cuts Republicans recommend are subject to the legislative process in the Senate. Others have written about the budget and for further analysis, BFIA recommends the Iowa Policy Project , the Iowa Fiscal Partnership and the Iowa Democratic Party's three reasons the Governor's budget will hurt Iowans.
Kent Sorenson Agitates as Promised
As he said he would, Senator Kent Sorenson (R-37) agitated the Iowa Senate during a unanimous consent motion by Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-50) on procedural rules. It was an attempt to gain attention for a vote on defining marriage in the Iowa constitution. Radio Iowa's Kay Henderson covered some of the details of the Senate action. One wonders whether Sorenson is doing anything other than fulfilling a promise he made on conservative talk radio “…to force votes that he (Senator Gronstal) hasn't had to take before.” While Sorenson's theatrics are presented under the guise of insurgent populism, they are more akin to a desultory performance in the highly stylized Japanese Kabuki theatre, and a sleeper for people who understand Senator Gronstal's position that the constitutional amendment to define marriage will not advance on his watch. Check out Senator Gronstal's Friday appearance on Iowa Press, where among other things, this issue is discussed, here.
House File 95 (Voter ID) Passes House in Partisan 60-40 Vote
One wonders if the Iowa House of Representatives will do anything except manifest Republican tropisms this session. The requirement to provide “certain identification when voting in person” represents more of the same voter suppression Republicans have become increasingly known for. Read Deeth for more analysis and some humor. This session of the legislature is already becoming tedious for its predictability. Let's hope the Democrats in the Senate can hold together to kill HF 95. Factoid: It is estimated by the Legislative Services Agency that HF 95 will result in a loss of revenue to the Road Use Tax Fund of $173,000 in FY 2012 and $345,000 each year thereafter to reflect the cost of providing identification cards at no charge for the current level of customers. Of course the Republican majority has not funded this aspect of HF 95 in the bill.
Personal Lobbying in the State House
Most Blog for Iowa readers have been asked at least once to demonstrate their interests at the Iowa Capitol by now. One Iowa, veterans groups, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the American Cancer Society and many others have held lobby days and more are scheduled. A stream of photographs of visitors to the capitol has been published in legislative newsletters, on Facebook and in other media. In addition, the schedule of community legislative forums is building and if you can't make it to Des Moines, write your elected officials to find out when they will be in a location near you to hear your feedback. The thing is, get involved! Check out the Blog for Iowa legislative guide here.
~Paul Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail Paul Deaton
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