Articles Tagged: Pat Grassley

Republican state lawmakers on Thursday chose Sen. Amy Sinclair as the new president of the Iowa Senate following the defeat of current Senate President Jake Chapman in Tuesday’s midterm election.

President Joe Biden has proposed a three-month suspension of the 18-cent federal gas tax and called on states to enact their own.

Even Republicans, with strong majorities in both chambers, could not always agree on policies or the budget.

The Republican House Speaker said there is not enough votes among House Republicans to pass one of Reynolds’ top legislative priorities

Recent state Supreme Court rulings ensured abortion access for pregnant women, but Iowa Republicans are working to nullify those rulings

Governor and Senate Republicans are delaying adjournment in hopes that House Republicans will pass the bill.

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.

There appears to be some significant ground to cover before the Republican-led Iowa House and Senate reach an agreement on those issues.

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.”

With just 23 calendar days — which means closer to 18 actual legislative work days, since lawmakers rarely work on Fridays — remaining until lawmakers’ expense reimbursements run out, the push to adjournment begins in earnest next week.

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.

In Iowa, the average gas price Thursday was $3.924, but topped $4 in many rural areas according to AAA. However, Iowa lawmakers say they’ve heard little talk of suspending state motor fuel taxes -- 30 cents a gallon state tax on gas and ethanol, and 32.5 on diesel fuel.

Iowa’s state budget is even healthier than experts previously estimated, but over the next two budget years, once newly approved state income tax cuts go into effect, Iowa’s state revenues are projected to decline.

The investigation could be seen as politicians trying to “push their own agenda and inappropriately interfere with a separate but equal branch of government,” House Democrats said in a letter to the speaker and Judiciary Committee chairman.

Iowa workers will see a gradual reduction in the state tax on their paychecks over the next five years, thanks to legislation signed into law Tuesday by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. The tax cuts will be phased in over five years, at which point they will provide tax relief — and thus also reduce state revenue — by $1.9 billion.