What Five Big Issues Remain Undecided in the Iowa Senate?

Submitted by Senator Jerry Behn

Spring is in the air and that means legislators are winding down their work in the Iowa Capitol.

But make no mistake – there is still plenty for the legislators to do – if they so choose.

Before the gavel falls for the final time, there are several critical issues left to address.

Here are five notable issues (among others) for the Legislature to still consider this spring:

The Budget

• Nearly all of the individual budget bills are headed to conference committees (joint bi-partisan committees of the House and Senate) and serious negotiations are starting.
• Senate Republicans made it clear from the start of the session that Iowa’s budget should not spend more dollars than our state takes in, should be balanced without raising taxes, should be free of the use of one-time dollars for ongoing expenses, should be transparent and should have money set aside for future needs.
• As negotiations continue on these important budget bills, Senate Republicans remain committed to standing up for the hardworking taxpayers of Iowa.

Property Tax Relief

• Iowa has some of the highest property taxes in the nation and without significant, authentic and aggressive property tax relief for all classes of property, Iowans will only continue to see substantial job killing increases over the next decade. 
• We need property tax reform for all classes of property and we need relief that limits the shift from one class of property to another.
• The Iowa House has already passed an impressive plan but it is stalled in the Senate.
• In order to create more jobs in Iowa, we need property tax relief and Senate Republicans stand ready to help pass authentic reform.

Education Reform

• Governor Branstad and Senate Republicans have made it a top priority to get Iowa education back on the right track.
• Over the past decade, Iowa’s standing in education has stagnated significantly compared to the rest of the country. Simultaneously, we have spent billions of dollars on an annual basis and yet have not achieved the results our students deserve and parents and taxpayers expect.
• Both the House and Senate have passed competing education reform bills but there is, as of yet, little movement to reconcile the differences.
• Senate Republicans remain hopeful that we will have meaningful education reform this session but a lot of work still remains.

Mental Health Reform

• Iowa’s current system of mental health delivery involves all 99 counties delivering services to their citizens but there is an effort in the Legislature to overhaul the system and make it more regionalized.
• However, mental health reform is a complicated issue with major questions remaining about how to pay for the services, what services should be offered and how those services should be administered.
• Both the House and Senate have worked on competing bills but there is still plenty of work to do to make them match.

Energy

• Having clean, abundant, reliable and affordable energy is critical to the future growth of our communities and to job creation in the Iowa.
• Major legislation is pending that would help create hundreds of jobs initially while also providing new avenues of energy generation for decades into the future.
• In order for our state to continue to grow, we must have a diverse portfolio of energy resources and that includes everything from clean coal, natural gas and nuclear to solar and wind.

Clearly, big issues remain in the final days and weeks of session and yes, it is possible some of these may get tossed aside for the year.

However, it is important to have an open and free-flowing debate on all of these issues in order to have the input of all Iowans.

As always, I want to hear from you and can be reached by phone at 515-281-3560 or by e-mail at Jerry.Behn@legis.iowa.gov

Jerry Behn

Senate Republican Leader

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