Articles Tagged: Bobby Kaufmann

State laws, national priorities clash

Iowa Republican state lawmakers in the House and Senate must now come together to close the gap on dueling proposals to lower Iowans’ property tax bills.

Rob Sand, the lone Democrat to hold statewide office, said if Republicans want to target him directly, they should hurl insults, not advance legislation he said will harm Iowa taxpayers.

A bipartisan pair of Iowa House lawmakers on Thursday announced the introduction a bill aimed at banning MLB TV blackouts in the state.

A hearing Monday on Iowa school districts’ processes for reviewing and removing school library books and materials some parents and community members deem obscene devolved into testy exchanges between Democrats and Republicans

Iowa House lawmakers for a third time again moved forward legislation that would prevent a defendant from

Former vice president speaks at Rep. Bobby Kaufmann dinner in Wilton.

The former vice president will headline a fundraiser alongside Iowa Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, marking another visit to Iowa and bolstering speculation around a 2024 presidential run

Also, 4 public transit infrastructure projects receive $1.5 million in state funding

Although the proposed moratorium is dead, its sponsor believes lawmakers who supported it sent a signal on behalf of Iowa landowners who are opposed to the use of eminent domain to secure private land for pipeline projects.

On one side are investors who want to deliver CO2 from Iowa ethanol plants to sequestration sites in other states. In an unusual pairing, they’ve been joined by some labor unions. On the other side, are “unusual bedfellows” — environmentalists, farmers, landowners and property rights advocates as well as opponents of large-scale farming and ethanol — calling for the Iowa Utilities Board to reject eminent domain for pipeline construction.

Concerned by what they see as a lack of action by lawmakers, landowners and others who oppose the use of eminent domain to construct pipelines across Iowa will have a public hearing at the Statehouse on Tuesday.

The proposed moratorium, which now goes to the state Senate, would not change the rules regarding the use of eminent domain or stop the construction of the three carbon pipelines proposed in Iowa. But it would provide 11 months of a level playing field for negotiations between landowners and companies hoping to construct pipelines, according to its sponsor.

Concerns about the possible use of eminent domain have increased over the past year as three companies have proposed building underground pipelines across Iowa. At informational meetings around the state since November, many landowners have raised concerns about eminent domain, safety of the pipelines and whether the companies should get tax credits for projects that may make money for the owners but not help Iowans or the environment.

Iowa elections’ recount procedures would be streamlined, funding from private groups to help elections operations would be prohibited, and an additional signature requirement for votes cast by mail would be added under a new proposal being considered by state lawmakers.