Senator Larry Noble

Senate District 35

The third week of the session has been very active with many committees working on bills that will have a direct impact on Iowans.  One of those bills is the Iowa Tuition Grant that affects many college students and their families as they make plans for their college education.  That is one of many bills that I will watch carefully to make sure that it receives the appropriate amount of funding.

We were also fortunate to have General Schwab from the Iowa Air National Guard give us a presentation in committee about the great work our National Guard is doing for our State and Country.  Their work is truly commendable.

The Governor finally unveiled his proposed budget this week. His suggestions provide taxpayers an early view of what we might expect.

Last year, The Governor signed the largest budget in state history.  Senate Republicans were concerned about this excessive spending and offered hundreds of millions of dollars in common sense savings but nearly all were ignored or voted down in a partisan fashion.  Therefore, not a single Republican in the House or Senate voted for the budget last year.

Unfortunately, as we all know, only months later, the State’s CEO could no longer ignore this unbalanced budget.   In October, he then was forced to make a ten percent across-the-board arbitrary cut.  

To be clear, Iowa does not have a revenue problem – we have a severe spending problem. The Governor and the majority party could have listened to Iowans and scaled back their spending last year.

If this initial budget outline for next fiscal year is any indication, we may be in for more of the same. His new proposed spending is over $400 million dollars higher than the state’s budget level today.

I will be watching his budget proposal very carefully along with the state reorganization bill to try and make sure that Iowans receive the quality government they deserve and pay for.  We can have an efficient and effective government with the revenues we are receiving from taxpayers if we reduce our spending in a prudent and responsible way.

I was very fortunate to meet with students from DMACC and Johnston Schools this week.  It was great to listen to their questions and thoughts about the political process.  I also met with some outstanding people from our Easter Seals Society program at Camp Sunnyside.

Another pleasure for me is to work with an excellent Senate Page from Ankeny, Chloe Wilson.  She is an example of the quality young leaders we have in our community.  She is a future leader.

I again appreciate all of the calls, letters, emails and personal contacts that I receive every week during the session. I have heard loud and clear that we need to reduce spending, work on providing private sector jobs for individuals and reduce property taxes. It truly makes me a better legislator and I thank you for that.  Please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

Please remember to thank our Public Safety personnel for all of their work during this tough winter.  I have heard from many individuals about how they have been recipients of their exemplary service in extreme weather conditions.