All Posts in Category: Newsletter

There has been a flurry of activity at the Statehouse since the Legislature adjourned just over one month ago. Then Governor Terry Branstad worked diligently to conclude action on all of the remaining bills passed by the Legislature prior to his confirmation as the Ambassador to China by the U.S.…

This 2017 Legislative Session has been very memorable for me. I am proud to serve as the Senate President and preside over a chamber with fifty Senators who care deeply about this state. We all have the same goal – to make Iowa a better place. Admittedly, we sometimes have…

At the conclusion of my forum last Saturday in Ankeny, I was visiting with several attendees who shared their thoughts and concerns regarding mental health and education. These are two very important topics indeed and I am always appreciative of people sharing their insights and thoughts on an issue. Mental…

If you were like me, you opened your mail this week to a major surprise. Unfortunately, this was not a good surprise. The county assessor sent out the new assessments this week and many people were surprised at the 10 to 15 percent increase in their assessments, which will dramatically…

In last week’s newsletter, I discussed the recent news regarding the budget. Although Iowa revenues continue to grow at nearly 2.5 percent, the incoming tax receipts are projected to grow at a lower rate than had been anticipated. For this reason, we must make very difficult decisions to maintain our…

Ankeny continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in Iowa and the entire country. The growth of new businesses and homes is advantageous to our community. However, it does come with its share of growing pains as our current infrastructure struggles to keep up with developments throughout the…

The Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference was established in Iowa Code as a way to arrive at consensus General Fund revenue estimates to be used by both the Governor and Legislature for the budget process.  They met this week to determine the newest state revenue estimate and announced very troubling news.…

If you are not plugged in to the legislative process, one might think Tuesday that the Iowa Senate was not in session. The Iowa Senate was indeed in session, and spent the day passing legislation honoring our veterans, enhancing protections to keep our children safe and bolstering Iowa’s computer science…

The first funnel week is one of the most important weeks of any legislative. It marks the first big hurdle for any piece of legislation. At the beginning of the session, all 150 legislators submit their ideas for legislation in bill form. These ideas come from a variety of sources:…

Senate Republicans are excited about the opportunity to move forward legislation that grows our economy, assists our job creators and makes Iowa a great place to do business, live and raise our children. Senate File 1 is a good start in making this a vision a reality. I want to…