Iowa
State Capitol News – Weekend Recap

Iowa
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 fifth 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.]

HF
45 Assigned to Senate Subcommittee

House
Speaker Kraig Paulsen's signature bill (HF 45) to cut spending during
the current fiscal year was assigned to a Senate appropriations
subcommittee consisting of Senators Bob Dvorsky (D-15), Jeff
Danielson (D-10) and Steve Kettering (R-26) on Tuesday. According to the Des Moines Register, “Democratic senators wielded sharp scissors on […] (HF 45), rejecting several big Republican proposals for spending cuts over the next five years.” In his weekly
update to constituents, Senator Dvorsky made no mention of HF 45,
focusing instead on the challenges of setting priorities for Iowa. From a budget standpoint, this means “protecting opportunities for
Iowa children first” Dvorsky said. Not to be outdone, Governor Branstad, Lieutenant Governor Reynolds and Director of the Department of Education unveil their Preschool Proposal on Monday at 9AM. Stay tuned.

Jobs
or Silly Bills?

So
what does the Republican House majority plan to do about jobs? It is
hard to tell. It appears the plan is some echo of a perception of the
Reagan era in which making life better for corporations and large
scale entrepreneurs is in the works, hoping that jobs will trickle
down. With the bills to allow people to ride equine animals on public
lands, to end the sales tax on washers and dryers for laundromats and
allow Iowans who take a self-defense class to buy a gun tax-free
sucking up all of the oxygen, conservatives may not have time to
work on creating a pro-job environment in the state in any more
substantial manner. Senator Joe Bolkcom (D-39), who normally refrains from commenting on what goes on in the other body, referred to the House propensity for silly bills that fulfill election promises: “It must be what it’s like to cough up a hairball. Just guessing.”

Is
there Hope for the Usual Suspects?

HSB
74 and HF 210 popped up on the legislative horizon in a way that is
fairly consistent with bills supported by powerful interest groups in
previous sessions. HSB 74 would repeal the bottle bill that requires
a nickel deposit on certain beverage containers, something that
retail establishments loathe because it is an expense rather than a
revenue generator for them. Check out the
lobbyist page to see which of the usual suspects is for and
against this perennial bill to see where things stand. Word is that the grocers like the senate version of the bill better, but that has not been posted on the legislature's web site as of this writing. Blog for Iowa's take is somewhat different. View a video about water bottles here to see where we land.

HF 210
is “an act relating to the identification of historic properties by
certain rural electric cooperatives.” The bill defines the amount
of work rural electric cooperatives must exert to identify and
preserve historic properties when laying new routes. Basically, they
would be required to review existing information on historical
properties and if a survey would be required, such survey, conducted
by the electric cooperative, would balance the impacts of preserving
the historic site and the project costs. There are
two flaws: there is no contingency for if a new historic site is
discovered as a result of laying the new route, and it appears that
the fox is guarding the hen house regarding the value of potential
historic sites. This during the growth period for wind energy, which
will require laying of new routes to harvest the electricity and get
it to the grid.  For people interested in preserving Iowa's
history, HF 210 is one to watch. See the positions of the
registered lobbyists here,
but thus far, no lobbyist has registered against this bill.

Roxanne
Conlin Lobbying on the Hill

Des
Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin posted this on Facebook this week:
“Went to Iowa Senate to prevent them from removing the Civil Rights
remedies for women in prison who are sexually harassed by guards. The
Corrections Dept seeks to reverse a Sup Ct decision for my client.
Unfortunately the subcommittee passed it. What can they be thinking?
This is a vulnerable population that has lost some of its rights but
certainly not the right to be free from discrimination and
harassment. R”

Governor
Branstad Seeks to Open Office in South Korea

On
Tuesday, Governor Branstad announced he would like to open an office
in South Korea should the United States Senate ratify the US-South
Korea Free Trade Agreement. Read the author's comments on this
agreement here
and here.
The Dubuque Telegraph Herald's story here.

~Paul
Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend
editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail
Paul Deaton