Iowa Politics Today: Winding things down to the end here

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Friday, April 21, 2017:

MORE BILL SIGNINGS: Gov. Terry Branstad continued his bill-signing marathon Friday, putting his signature on 20 bills approved by the Iowa Legislature.

Among those he signed were House File 134 that relates to cities' authority to regulate the occupancy of residential rental property, and House File 545 relating to the public disclosure of information regarding founded child abuse involving a child fatality or near fatality.

To see all of the bills, visit here.

STAYING INDEPENDENT: Ocheyedan Sen. David Johnson told his Senate colleagues Friday he plans to maintain his independent status next year and called for equal treatment in being given committee assignments during the 2018 session.

Johnson broke with the Republicans, who now hold a 29-member majority in the Senate, over their choice of Donald Trump as the party's 2016 presidential nominee and eventual election winner. Johnson, who was afforded one committee assignment this year by minority Democrats, said there previously had been 22 independents in the Iowa Senate, 'and all of them were assigned to committees and had votes.”

He said it is a disservice to the 60,000 northwestern Iowans he represents to exclude their voices from the committee process.

He told Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, who did not respond, that 'I want you to carefully think about that because you've never seriously talked to me about that.”

He also invited other senators to consider joining him in his independent caucus of one next session.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'So this is what a last day of session actually looks like. It's exciting to be here. I try to leave each session in the same way I come in - bitter and disappointed.” - Sen. Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, who has never been present when the Legislature adjourned.