Browsing Tag

Iowa House

238 posts

Two Important Bills Are in a Holding Pattern in the Iowa Legislature

The fetal heartbeat abortion ban bill has been assigned to the Iowa House Human Resources Committee and has yet to be assigned a subcommittee. Similarly, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is still waiting for a floor vote in the Iowa Senate and needs to pass a House committee before March 16th.

Iowa House Republicans Must Advance the Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Ban

Shane Vander Hart: I’m not certain that the Iowa House Republicans have 59 members who are pro-life. There are some who aren’t, but there are also pro-life legislators who are concerned about potential judicial review on the bill setting us back. They should make a public argument. Let’s get an on-the-record vote.

Iowa Needs Tax Reform Now: Delay Will Result in Tax Increases on Iowans

John Hendrickson: High tax rates are harmful to economic growth. In addition to reducing rates, the final tax reform and relief measure should be comprehensive, use revenue triggers or phase-ins, reduce and reform the use of tax credits, and modernize the sales and use tax to bring fairness to Iowa’s small businesses. 

Episode 31: Iowa Working Families Tax Relief Act

This week on The Caffeinated Thoughts Podcast, Shane Vander Hart discusses the Iowa Working Families Tax Relief Act (SF 2383) that passed in the Iowa Senate 29 to 21 with Drew Klein, the Iowa State Director for Americans for Prosperity.

Anti-Common Core, School Choice Bills Die in Iowa House

HF 2317, a bill that would make the Iowa Academic Standards voluntary for public schools and accredited non-public schools and HSB 651, a bill that would expand school choice in Iowa, died in the Iowa House Education Committee without a vote.

Opioids, Welfare, & Entitlements

Steven Holt: Week 6 of the 2018 Iowa Legislative Session saw the advancement of Opioid legislation in the House, the unveiling of Governor Kim Reynolds’ tax reform package and a bill to begin moving Iowa toward entitlement reform that reduces fraud and encourages a return to the private sector.

Sharing William Wilberforce’s Story on the Iowa House Floor

State Representative Skyler Wheeler (R-Orange City) said that William Wilberforce was one of his heroes, and he is certainly a model for Christians to look to as we engage in the political realm.

Iowa Constitutional Amendment Affirming 2nd Amendment Survives Funnel

HJR 13, a “right to keep and bear arms” amendment that would amend the Iowa Constitution to add language affirming the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in the Iowa House Judiciary Committee.

Episode 29: Expanding School Choice in Iowa

On the Caffeinated Thoughts Podcast, Shane Vander Hart discusses a bill in the Iowa House that would expand school choice in Iowa with Trish Wilger of Iowa Advocates for Choice in Education and Mark Jacobs of Reaching Higher Iowa.

Iowa Student Opportunities Act Introduced in Iowa House

HSB 651, the Iowa Student Opportunities Act, was introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives on Thursday. The bill would create an educations savings grant program and a new charter school program to expand school choice for Iowa’s public school families.

Time to Strengthen Iowa’s 99% Spending Limitation

John Hendrickson: Iowa taxpayers deserve constitutional protection, and the best way to do this is to protect taxpayer interests through a stronger spending limit.  

Bill Overriding Iowa Department of Education’s Assessment Choice Advances

A bill, HSB 578, making the University of Iowa’s Iowa Testing Programs the vendor who develops and administers Iowa’s statewide student assessment passed the Iowa House Education Committee 21 to 1.

Baltimore Removed As Iowa House Judiciary Chair Following OWI Arrest

Shane Vander Hart: Iowa House Speaker Linda Upmeyer made the right decision removing State Representative Chip Baltimore as the House Judiciary Committee Chair following his OWI arrest. Baltimore should also resign from the House following this session.

Iowa House Bill Would Authorize “Bible as Literature” in Public Schools

Eleven states allow the Bible to be taught as literature in their public schools, with Kentucky being one of the most recent. Should a bill, HF 2031, introduced in the Iowa House on Wednesday pass into law Iowa would join that number.

K-12 Education Bills of Note Before Iowa Legislature Early in 2018

Shane Vander Hart provides a round-up of K-12 education bills of note that are before the Iowa House and Iowa Senate Education Committees after the first week of the 2018 session of the 87th Iowa General Assembly.

Video & Transcript: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ 2018 Condition of the State

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds focused on water quality, tax reform, ending sexual harassment, investing in small-town Iowa, Medicaid, mental health, opioid addiction, education spending, and career readiness as she laid out her agenda for the 2018 legislative session.