Statehouse Republicans eager to make their mark

DES MOINES - With one sweeping change already enacted, Republicans in complete control of Iowa's lawmaking agenda for the first time in seven years promise more are coming.

Whether the changes are for the better depends greatly on the eye - and political leaning - of the beholder.

From 1997 to 2010, control of the Iowa Capitol was just the opposite: Democrats held the governor's office and majorities in both the House and Senate. Then Democrats lost the governorship and the House, but held on to the Senate - until the last election.

Now that the GOP has say over the state agenda for at least the next two years, Republican lawmakers are not squandering the opportunity.

The chambers so far this legislative session have sent six bills to the governor's desk, four of which have been signed into law. One of them - proposed, debated and signed in a mere 10 days - dramatically restricts what most of the state's public employees can collectively bargain for come contract time.

'The promise that I made to my caucus, the promise I've made to my voters and supporters in my district, is that we're going to focus on policies that create a new legacy of opportunity here in Iowa, and we're not going to let them down,” said Sen. Bill Dix, the new Senate majority leader from Shell Rock.

Democrats said they don't believe the policy changes will accomplish what Republicans say they will.

'We see what has happened so far by Republicans as being broken promises,” said Rep. Mark Smith, the House minority leader from Marshalltown. 'They talked a good game about improving the lives of Iowans, and we've not seen legislation yet that puts more jobs into our state, helps people get ahead in our economy and the overall economy improving.”

Friday was a key deadline in the legislative session. To remain eligible for consideration, non-budget bills had to achieve a prescribed level of support: passage through at least the committee level. The deadline winnows the field of eligible bills and provides a glimpse at the majority party's agenda.

With that deadline past, here is a look at what bills already have been passed and sent to the governor, what bills are working through the legislative process and what is yet to come:

What's done

Republican lawmakers set to work quickly to take back nearly $118 million from the state budget for the current fiscal year ending June 30, a move spurred by lower-than-expected revenues. The GOP spared Medicaid and public K-12 education from the cuts, but the state's public universities absorbed a big hit - now more than $20 million.

Republicans also early in the session determined a funding level for K-12 public education for the 2017-2018 school year, a 1.11 percent increase in general aid over the previous year. Democrats and public education advocates expressed concern that funding level will be insufficient.

The collective bargaining changes were significant and drew much attention to the Capitol. The new law, which went into effect immediately upon its Feb. 17 signing by Gov. Terry Branstad, dramatically reduced the elements - health insurance, for one prominent example - over which public workers can bargain. The law also added stronger benchmarks for those public employee unions to recertify.

Republicans said the changes are needed to balance a system they said had grown to favor workers and to give public employers more flexibility in creating wage and benefit packages.

Democrats and public employees decried the law as an assault on teachers, transportation workers, state hospital nurses and others, as well as a move to stifle union political power.

What's in the works

Many more bills that would bring significant changes are proceeding.

One would halt all public funding to women's health care clinics that also perform abortions, the most prominent example being Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.

Public funds already may not be used to pay for abortions, but conservatives long have sought to stop all funding to health providers that perform abortions.

That would be achieved with legislation passed by the Senate and, so far, a House subcommittee. The bill creates a new family planning program that sends no state money to Planned Parenthood.

Critics say the bill would leave women who use Planned Parenthood without options for not only abortions but also disease screenings and prenatal services, and that the state will lose out on $3 million in federal matching funds.

GOP lawmakers also considered abortion policy proposals. A bill that would have recognized life at birth - a so-called 'personhood” bill - did not garner enough support. Lawmakers are still debating a separate measure that would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.

Another bill moving through the House would bring major changes to the state's gun laws.

The bill has many elements, including a 'stand your ground” provision that lessens the burden for an individual to prove he or she felt threatened before using deadly force.

Proponents say the bill expands Iowans' constitutional rights. Opponents fear the changes would increase gun violence and make Iowa a more dangerous place.

And at the request of Secretary of State Paul Pate, lawmakers in both chambers are considering legislation that would require voters to present some form of identification at the polls. The bill would require photo identification, such as a driver's license, or a state-issued voter ID card with a signature and bar code that poll workers could scan.

Supporters say the proposal would strengthen Iowa's election system, which Pate says already is one of the cleanest and fairest in the nation. Critics say the bill could dissuade potential voters who do not possess one of the required ID forms.

What's yet to come

Because last week's first deadline impacts policy bills, legislators typically wait until later in the session to start work on funding bills.

Republicans have not yet introduced legislation on school choice programs and tax reform, but GOP leaders said both will be addressed.

Republicans want to establish programs that help families send their children to non-public K-12 schools. While legislation is not yet drafted, such programs typically include state funding that could be used toward tuition and other costs at private schools.

Dix also said Senate Republicans want to address tax policy; he talked specifically about the state's income tax, which is one of the highest in the nation, according to the national nonprofit Tax Foundation.

The hurdle Republicans face is that both school choice programs and tax cuts come with a big price tag in what figures to be another tight budget year.

'Whatever we do, it's going to be well-thought out. It's going to be utilizing the evidence we've witnessed in other states and also in our own state,” Dix said, pointing to income tax reductions made in the 1990s.

Republicans' agenda

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said Republicans are making good progress on issues 'that Iowans raised as priorities.”

'We said when we were elected to the majority once again that we were going to focus on making this a great place to live, work and raise a family, and that's where we're going,” she said.

Democrats and other opponents of some of these proposals dismiss suggestions the policies will be good for Iowans.

'The legislative session so far has been a complete contradiction of everything Republicans said during their campaigns,” said Danny Homan, president of the state's largest public employee union. 'In the months leading up to the election, we saw flashy ads about job creation and prioritizing Iowa schools, and we've seen the complete opposite.

'They balanced their budget problems on the backs of public employees, gave schools a measly 1.1 percent (increase to K-12 school funding), stripped workers of their seat at the table, which is already negatively affecting contract negotiations, and taken every opportunity to restrict health care access for low-income women.

'This legislative session has been an all-out attack on working men and women in the state of Iowa,” he said.