Iowa lawmakers returning for likely final week

DES MOINES - The Legislature returns today for what could be its final week of a session already in overtime.

'The reality is we are going to stay until we get the job done,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs. 'We are hopeful we have most pieces near resolution. I've told people I don't want anybody to leave this building without having left instructions with our Legislative Services Agency as to what they should be drafting for our consideration (today).”

Several budget bills, which must get done, are still unresolved.

One is the Health and Human Services bill, which appropriates money for health services, such as Medicaid matching money. The legislation is in a House and Senate conference committee where one of the sticking points is the Democratic-controlled Senate's insistence on a $5 million appropriation to reopen the shuttered juvenile home in Toledo.

The Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund bill, which pays for projects across the state, as well as the Standings bill, which provides standing appropriations and often serves as a catch-all for projects, also need resolution.

The Legislature has yet to sign off on a debt-reduction bill to use some of the state's surplus to retire Vision Iowa bonds.

'I think Tuesday is very realistic,” said House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha. 'I think right now making sure the paper's ready so the members have the bills in front of them and can get on the floor and debate them. That's one of the pieces.”

The Legislature also could - but doesn't have to - move some notable policy bills left undone when they adjourned for the weekend Friday.

Among those are:

l A bill that would allow the possession of cannabis oil by people suffering from epilepsy or their guardians has passed the Senate and is moving through the House Public Safety Committee.

l A bill creating tax incentives for companies to expand broadband access to unserved and underserved areas of the state was killed in the House Friday, but it can be brought back.

l A bill that cuts the number of greyhound tracks in the state but also guarantees payments from casinos to greyhound owners and breeders over the next several years awaits action in the House.

l A bill that requires school officials to notify parents in most cases when their children are involved in a bullying incident at school awaits action in the Senate.