Legislature Begins to Wind Down

The second funnel day eliminated from further consideration around 60 bills. Most were bills of little interest to values voters.

The Democrats did move a number of important bills out of committees in time for this funnel, or into the Ways and Means Committee, which keeps them alive for the rest of the session.

The following are bills of some interest to values voters that survived the 2^nd funnel:

HF 2537 which expands the kinds of containers covered under the deposit laws and increases the container handling fee, may come up for debate before the Legislature adjourns.

HF 2663 would create a statewide school sales tax, which converts the local option school taxes into a statewide tax. This is a Ways and Means bill. It is on the House debate calendar.

HF 2562 and SF 2389 These bills would restructure the motor vehicle taxes. Since they are funding bills, they are in Ways and Means Committees.

SF 2216 This is the core curriculum bill to which we have registered our opposition since it offers no exemptions for private and parochial schools. We have posted Eric Goranson’s detailed evaluation of this bill on www.iowachristian.com. Parents who want to retain their right to educate their children without government interference need to take an interest in this legislation.

SF 2279 Healthy Kids Act would require physical exercise at school or under some circumstance at home. The problem, as I understand it from discussions with the private and parochial school lobbyists, is being able to carve out another 30 minutes of each day for exercise. Most schools are maxed out and, therefore, would have to cut some other learning experience to make time for this mandate.

HF 2623 Compulsory School Age raises the compulsory school age to 17. This could pose some problems for home schoolers and students who graduate early.

There are two bills that attempt to provide health care coverage to every Iowa child and guarantee coverage under a family plan to age 25. The Senate version, SF 2390, is the result of a commission chaired by Senator Jack Hatch. It makes sweeping changes in health care insurance coverage and if funded would be, in the opinion of some, exorbitant.

The other bill, HF 2539, is less comprehensive and, therefore, less costly. Neither of these bills is fully funded and are viewed as a first step toward a comprehensive health care system that would provide health insurance coverage to every Iowan.

HF 2645 Public Employee Bargaining – Senator Gronstal (a Des Moines talk show host refers to him as Governor Gronstal) made a motion to reconsider (MTR) on HF 2645. That’s the bill that the Democrats said would only make corrections to collective bargaining statutes and would not affect “right to work” or implement “fair share.” When they finally brought it to the floor for a vote, they attached a 14 page amendment which would have made significant alterations to good faith bargaining and give public employee unions, including teachers, substantially more power in the process. The new powers could have significantly impacted state and local taxes.

The public, Republican legislators, school boards, boards of supervisors, mayors, etc. and Governor Culver (he’s the real Governor, I think) all cried foul. There had been no public hearings, very little debate and no input. The outcry convinced Senator Gronstal to hold the bill while the Democrats seek a compromise with the Governor. Of course, that does nothing for all the other elected and appointed officials who would like to have an opportunity to comment on this bill.

If you are interested in reading these bills, you may do so by going on line to www.iowachristian.com, follow the prompts to the Legislature’s web site, which can make these bills available to you.

Wednesday of last week the Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour brought their bus to the State Capitol. They invited all the legislators and other Iowans to join them for a barbeque lunch, prepared by former navy seal and brother in the Lord, Lee Bouton. Three veterans, two with Silver Star medals, one with a Bronze Star, shared testimony about their service, their comrades in arms and their love and willing sacrifice for their country. They all had the same vision for the war in Iraq. It is a noble undertaking that can be won and will be, if we let them win.

During the speeches, I noticed about 25 or 30 legislators in the audience. All were Republicans; not one Democrat had the courtesy to listen to the presentations made by these heroes. Some of them may have come later to share in the lunch. But I doubt that many came out, even for the free meal. If we asked them, I’m sure they would say they are against the war but support the troops. Really?