Iowa House Democrats tout bills to lower costs

DES MOINES — Iowa House Democrats introduced a package of proposals Wednesday intended to lower costs for Iowans — including increasing the child care tax credit and freezing tuition at Iowa’s public universities — as lawmakers set their sights on creating next year’s state budget.

The bills, which have not yet been filed, are part of House Democrats’ “People Over Politics” legislative agenda they proposed at the beginning of the legislative session. House Democrats previously introduced bills to legalize recreational cannabis and constitutionally protect abortion rights.

“While we recognize the state Legislature can’t control all the ups and downs of the national economy, we can take action to help lower costs for Iowa families and reduce the living expenses for everyday Iowans,” House Democratic leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights told reporters Wednesday.

With Republicans holding an agenda-setting majority in the House, the proposed bills will go nowhere without support from Republican leaders. A spokesperson for House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Across five bills and a budget amendment, the proposals would:

• Provide a child care tax credit to families earning under $250,000 on a sliding scale, and increase the income threshold for state child care assistance

• Require health insurance providers to cap insulin costs for all Iowans at $25

• Renew the Iowa Solar Tax Credit program and provide assistance to offset energy costs

• Require the labor commissioner to place a high priority on investigating wage theft and allow the commissioner to investigate employers without a formal complaint

• Create a tax credit program for affordable housing units, expand the first-time home savings account and create neighborhood grant program for homeowners to make improvements to their homes

• Freeze tuition at Iowa’s public universities and community colleges

Konfrst said she hopes Republicans can support the proposals as lawmakers work on a proposed budget, arguing they are backed by a majority of Iowans.

“We want to have conversations with our colleagues in leadership, our colleagues across the aisle, to remind them that our job here is to work for everyday Iowans and to do the work that Iowans asked us to do,” she said.

Child care

One of the proposals would increase the state child care tax credit, allowing taxpayers with an income of up to $250,000 to offset a portion of their child care costs through a tax credit. The income limit for state child care assistance would also increase.

The bill would provide grants to people who start new child care facilities or to expand existing ones, and allow small businesses to receive a tax credit for providing child care to their employees.

“Nearly a quarter of our state’s residents are estimated to live in a child care desert,” said Rep. Molly Buck, D-Ankeny. “While the annual cost of child care can be more than tuition at one of our public universities, and more than monthly rent or mortgage for most people.”

Wage theft

Another bill would give the Iowa labor commissioner more power to investigate instances of employers not paying fair wages.

Under the bill, the labor commissioner would be able to investigate employers’ records and payrolls without having a formal complaint.

Common Good Iowa, a liberal policy research organization, released a report last year that estimated more than $900 million is being withheld annually from employees through so-called wage theft — practices like withholding wages, tips and overtime pay.

“A lot of folks don’t want to file those complaints because they don’t want to lose their job,” Konfrst said. “So we want to make sure that the labor commissioner is out there looking out for workers as they’re supposed to.”

Freeze tuition

House Democrats also called for freezing tuition at Iowa’s three public universities and 15 community colleges while increasing the amount of state funding for higher education institutions.

At the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, in-state tuition and fees ranged between $9,400 and $10,400 for the 2022-2023 school year, an increase of about 4.4 percent from last year.

“Let’s give families a break,” Konfrst said. “And let’s make sure that the Legislature does our job to fully fund our region’s institutions and our community colleges.”