On this week’s edition of the On Iowa Politics Podcast: a key Democrat retires from the Legislature, some highlights from funnel week at the statehouse, and the Ashley Hinson-Liz Mathis race starts to take shape
“Quiet title” laws across the Midwest can disproportionately affect homeowners who don’t speak English.
Mayor Chris Hoffman began his first term as mayor earlier this year but he’s not a stranger to local government. Hoffman was on the North Liberty City Council for 14 years before being elected mayor.
Ten Iowa middle- and high-school girls — two of them transgender — spoke Thursday at a legislative hearing on legislation that would ban transgender girls from competing in girls athletics in Iowa. Also, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed her first bill of the session: a $3.6 billion K-12 public education package.
Proposed income tax cuts are on the move, and work on the next state budget has started earlier than normal.
Lawmakers are seeking a way to maintain Iowa’s four-decade-old Iowa bottle bill and address retailers’ safety and health concerns about handling dirty beverage containers in their stores.
Advocates for the bill say it gives Iowa parents more school choice, but opponents say vouchers could have a devastating impact on public schools.
Subpoenas are expected to be issued early next week as part of the investigation into conduct that led Gov. Kim Reynolds to reject two nominees for an open judgeship. The committee is seeking documents and testimony from people involved the judicial nominating process.
A proposal to enable parents to start legal proceedings against schools or educators who distribute books or materials the parents deem obscene advanced Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol. Also advancing was a bill that would require Iowa, ISU and UNI sports teams to schedule games against each other.
The bill, one of three GOP tax relief plans under consideration, would phase in a four-year gradual reduction in Iowa’s personal income tax rate from the current top rate of 8.53 percent for the highest wage earners to 4 percent for all taxpayers.
Republicans who support a bill that seeks to limit public land buys say the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and county conservation boards shouldn’t be competing with farmers trying to buy timber for cattle grazing. Democrats say its more likely developers or other farmers snapping up land.
The Iowa City Council has directed nearly $1 million in pandemic relief funds to CommUnity Crisis Services so the nonprofit can expand its mobile crisis outreach program. The move comes in response to the increased need for mental health services during the pandemic.
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