CHRISTIAN COALITION

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

Norman L. Pawlewski – Lobbyist

April 4 – April 8, 2005

            Friday, April 8^th was the second funnel date for this session of the Legislature.  All bills passed by the House had to be processed through Senate sub-committees and standing committees or they were dead for this year.  HJR1 did not make it through to the Senate calendar.  It is therefore, dead for this year.  There are some ways around this funnel process but I doubt we will be successful in finding a way to bring the marriage amendment up for Senate debate this year.  We will need to work on getting support during the interim and hopefully get HJR1 through the Senate next year.

            Thanks to all of you who called, wrote or e-mailed your Senators about this amendment.  We did hear from Senate members that you were making contacts.

            A few weeks back I reported on SF385, the Governor’s plan to improve early care, child care services, education and human services systems.  This bill, as envisioned by the Governor would put 90% of Iowa children, from birth to age 5 in state government created, certified and financed day care.  It’s an idea that the Governor and his wife came up with after visiting child care facilities in France.  Yes, you read that right, France.  A country that is nearly financially bankrupt and morally bankrupt as well.

            The Governor asked for an appropriation of 40 million dollars in start-up funds for the next fiscal year.  After that it would cost an estimated 400 million dollars per year to keep this monster takeover of the early child and day care system operating. 

            Republicans in the House countered with a much less costly and less intrusive proposal.  HF385 never made it out of committee but parts of it were grafted into four other pieces of legislation: HF802, HF816, HF825 and HF761.  The provisions relating to early childhood education in these bills were not even close to what was being proposed in HF385. 

            The one provision that CCI, IFPC and CWA want in regard to early childhood education and day care is a tax credit to parents who take care of their own pre-school children, instead of handing them over to the government to raise and educate.  We spent a whole day working on getting just such a provision written into all four of the bills mentioned above.  If we were successful, that’s only the first step.  We will then have to sell this novel idea, that parents raising their pre-school children at home is preferable, to legislators on both sides of the aisle and then to the Governor.  It is rumored that the Governor is so enamored with this European model of child rearing that he will veto other education legislation unless he gets his way.  It’s also rumored that many conservatives are urging the Governor to run for president – of France.

            We are coming to the most dangerous part of any legislative session, the end.  During the next few weeks we will have to be very vigilant.  Provisions to make homosexuality a civil rights protected class may be grafted into seemingly innocent legislation, tax increases may find their way into various spending bills and wanted legislation may be adulterated with unwanted provisions.  Those of you who like to get on the net and scan legislation are encouraged to contact CCI if you notice anything that might be odoriferous.

Early Childhood Education Tax Credit Talking Points

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