We are in the fourteenth week of the legislative session, and we continued debating throughout the week, working with the House on bills going back and forth between our chambers. With our 100-day legislative session deadline quickly approaching, we are plugging away at anything remaining.
One bill passed this week was House File 2670, which modifies the K-12 summative assessments to include social studies in the set of core academic indicators, alongside English language arts, mathematics and science in grades 8-10. The bill is aimed at ensuring Iowa’s students are prepared for the future, furthering their education and focused on the important subjects that will help students be successful in the future.
A bill that we have heard a lot about is Senate File 2219 regarding exempt absences from school. Senate File 2219 ensures students who miss school for an agricultural club or event are considered exempt from school. We have worked heavily on addressing student truancy and we understand the importance of students being in the classroom. With that being said, we also know that not everything is learned inside of a classroom. The bill requires all school districts to grant an exempt absence when students are absent from school for a school-sponsored activity. School districts are required to allow the students to make up any work they miss because of this absence. This important legislation ensures students who are interested in getting hands-on experience in activities like FFA are not being unfairly punished. A lot of school activities teach students leadership skills and public speaking skills that are very beneficial, and it is important that we encourage those to help students prepare for their futures.
Another bill passed this week was Senate File 2490 regarding oil and gas production. This bill was a huge update on Iowa’s laws to ensure landowner protections during the exploration and discovery of oil and gas in Iowa’s ground. The bill also enacts a better framework in Iowa Code that has not been updated in decades to help set our state up for success when it comes to our natural resources. The reason this bill was coming forward was to prepare our state for any hydrogen discoveries underneath our ground. As we look to Iowa’s future, this bill is one way we can continue growing our state, and lowering input costs for Iowa farmers.
As session starts moving towards adjournment, we begin to recognize those who will be retiring from the legislature. Although we are excited for what the future may hold, we are sad to lose some among us who have made lasting impressions on our hearts, but most importantly, our state. Everyone brings a different perspective to this line of work and that is something we are fortunate to have. With retirement resolutions being read, and speeches and thanks being given, we realize yet again how close we are to the end of the 91st General Assembly, and it is a great time to think about all we have accomplished at the Capitol together.
Property tax discussions continue at the Capitol
Last week, the Iowa Senate took a huge step forward in the discussion on property taxes, passing our proposal with overwhelming bipartisan support. Senate File 2472 was the Iowa Senate’s property tax overhaul to bring relief to taxpayers and reform an outdated and complicated property tax system. As we have said from the very beginning, the goal of the Senate bill is to completely overhaul and reform a system to better work for Iowans and their families, bring more stability and predictability for Iowans and small businesses, and ultimately keeps more money in the hands of Iowans instead of with the government.
While the property tax system is complicated, for Iowans this bill is simple. For every Iowan who has a home, you will get a 50% permanent discount on the taxable value of your home. When you turn 60 years old, you get a 60% discount. When you turn 70, you get a 70% discount, and so on. Additionally, when property inflation goes up more than 2%, property tax levies automatically get lowered, bringing even more relief to your property tax bills.
Senate File 2472 has several other important features to reform Iowa’s property tax system instead of Band-Aid approaches. The Senate pursued an approach that looked at all aspects of property taxes and how we could make the system better. It eliminates the variable rollback system, which changes every single year. It implements levy rate controls and implements a property tax restriction on local taxing entities to rein in the growth of local government spending. Most importantly, it tells Iowans they deserve a better tax environment than businesses and corporations.
The Senate was proud to pass this reform and relief out of our chamber 41-4 last week. We will wait to see what the House can accomplish as we continue discussions and see what compromise we can achieve. I hope they will take up our simple, yet comprehensive, overhaul approach and look forward to the continued talks as we get into the final weeks of session.
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