Articles Tagged: Iowa Legislature

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.

Sen. Dan Dawson says a proposal to swap taxes in order to fund conservation and water quality could still pass the Iowa Legislature

Iowa is donating 146 protective helmets and 714 ballistic vests to Ukraine. They are excess expired equipment from the Department of Public Safety and 18 other law enforcement agencies.

The state’s share of the health and human services budget would be $53.6 million more than current spending, a 2.6 percent increase, according to Legislative Services Agency. It’s also $39.5 million more than Gov. Kim Reynolds recommended.

The bill “ensures that we have added protections for Iowans who need it,” Hite said. It was amended by the House, so it will return to the Senate, which previously approved it 47-0, before going to the governor.

Iowa state park rangers who had been told they had to move out of state-owned housing by Nov. 30, would get an eviction extension to at least 2024 under a budget approved Wednesday by the Iowa House.

Also, Gov. Reynolds signs into law two bills relating to Israel

GOP says changes needed to modernize, put focus on re-employment. The legislationm they say, updates a system from the 1930s when unemployment compensation was the sole safety net for out-of-work Iowans.

Schools would be required to post their classroom materials and library books online for parents to see — but not twice annually as previously proposed — under school transparency legislation moving in the Iowa House.

During debate of a $652 million appropriation for several departments covered by the justice systems appropriation, Democrats offered an amendment to address working conditions in Iowa prisons, where a correctional officer and nurse were murdered by inmates March 23, 2021.

Bill to permit warrantless search of abandoned garbage goes to governor

The state is making more than a half-million dollars available to prepare K-12 teachers to teach computer science.

Bill would allow retailers to opt out of redeeming carbonated and alcoholic beverage containers, but they would pay a half-cent handling fee for five years. Distributors would pay an additional penny handling fee to redemption centers for each bottle or can returned.

State lawmakers have given the first stage of approval to a proposed state constitutional amendment that would clarify what happens when Iowa’s governor must be replaced.

Instead of granting the Board of Regents’ ask for an additional $15 million in general education appropriations for the 2023 budget year – bringing the state’s total regents higher-ed allocation to $501 million – the House has suggested keeping gen-ed funding flat while putting $12 million into a new “Iowa Workforce Grant and Incentive Program.”