Iowa Legislature Did and Didn't

Here is Gazette Statehouse Bureau guru Rod Boshart's exhaustive did and didn't list for the 2011 session. Enjoy.

DID

Shrink state general fund spending by $245 million to $5.99 billion in fiscal 2012

Reapportion congressional/legislative districts

Create taxpayer relief fund

Revamp economic development effort into public-private partnership

Allow mourning doves to be hunted in Iowa

Repeal periodic county referenda on gaming

Create “stolen valor” crime for fraudulent use of military medals

Lower blood-alcohol to .08 percent for drunken boating

Begin revamp of county-based mental health system; reduce waiting lists

Allow parole for “lifers” who committed non-murder Class A crimes as a juvenile

Modify child-abuse registry provisions

Bar nicotine use on school grounds/events

Allow stabilizing wheels on motorcycles

Grant retroactive state tax breaks for 2008 disaster victims, teachers and college students

Ban caffeinated alcohol drinks

Merge state library services to save money

Expand accountability for Iowa Association of School Boards

Scrutinize administrative rules/create red tape commission

Bar prison/jail inmates from possessing cell phones

Create searchable state budget data base

Couple Iowa tax code retroactively with federal changes for disaster and education costs

Divest public investments tied to Iran over time

Restrict governor's transfer authority after Legislature adjourns

Allow plasma arc technology alternate energy production facility

Strengthen concussion protections for high-school athletes

Broaden liquor sales in convenience stores

Toughen penalties for K2, synthetic marijuana

Shift water quality programs from DNR to Iowa Agriculture Department

Allow local ordinances regarding copper thefts

Require state employees convicted of felony to repay money from administrative leave

Allow governor to appoint Iowa Law Enforcement Academy director

Increase penalties for violating open meetings/records laws

DIDN'T

Amend Constitution to define marriage as only one man/one woman

Reduce commercial property tax rates, cap ag and residential increases

Revamp collective bargaining law for public employees

Restrict late-term abortions

Ban or set uniform rules for red-light/speed enforcement cameras

Legalize online poker in Iowa

Assess state workers/officials minimum $100 per month fee for health insurance

Revamp universal preschool into means-tested system

Create offenses for interfering/tampering with livestock/crop enterprises

Ease hurdles for building nuclear-powered facility

Raise speed limit to 60 mph on primary/secondary roads

Force University of Iowa to sell Jackson Pollock “Mural” painting

Allow chronically ill patients access to medical marijuana

Cut state income tax by 20 percent

Increase state earned income tax credit

Impeach four sitting Iowa Supreme Court justices

Require voters to produce photo identification

Expand athletic ineligibility rule from 90 days to 180 days

Change school year from 180 days to 1,080 hours of instruction

Modify teen graduated driver's license provisions

Restrict dissolvable tobacco products

Give home rule authority to school officials

Allow schools to establish student dress codes

Rein in handicapped parking permits

Enact reasonable/deadly force protections

Let businesses, groups and others deny services/accommodations due to religious beliefs

Eliminate dog racing requirement at greyhound tracks

Repeal option to vote straight party ticket

Eliminate annual permit required to purchase a handgun or revolver

Remove electrical wiring inspection requirement for farmers

Establish health insurance exchange

Allow credit unions/banks to conduct savings account promotion raffles

Allow boats with bigger motors on Lake Macbride

Prohibit campaign calls during nighttime hours

Create sales-tax exemption for college textbooks

Establish “do not text/email” protections for minors

Cap “pay-day” loan interest rates at 36 percent

Crack down on “backyard boutique” used auto sales

Allow counties to use lease-purchase agreements to build courthouses

Protect workers against wage theft

Restrict local governments' power to use eminent domain to seize land

Give mobile home owners same rights as apartment renters

Expand latitude for creating charter schools

Create one-week wait to collect jobless benefits

Stop authorities from confiscating guns and ammunition during “Katrina-like” natural disaster

Allow security guards/private investigators to carry “offensive weapons”

Designate 10-year, $600 million flood mitigation effort

Restrict dissolvable tobacco products

Require nonprofit groups file campaign disclosure reports

Give Iowans “right to choose” insurance coverage

Document state residency to receive public assistance

Give fathers more rights in split child custody

Accelerate post-disaster buyout decisions

Bar abortion coverage in insurance policies under state health insurance exchange

Establish state licensing of midwives.

Bypass federal REAL ID Act requirements

Allow naturalistic medicine

Remove certain savannahs and Bengal leopard cats from list of dangerous animals

Prohibit donation to charity as criminal penalty in lieu of court-ordered community service

Extend unemployment benefits

Assure satellite voting stations on private property free from bias

Extend Save Our Small Business loan program

Change state judicial nominating process

Revamp/abolish state bottle deposit law into curbside recycling

Limit terms in office for state lawmakers

Create “right to farm” protections from nuisance complaints

Require drug testing for welfare recipients

Consolidate school superintendents to one per county

Draw new boundaries to have 50 counties by 2017

Restrict junk-food purchases using government food stamps

Impose a moratorium on new state gaming licenses

Allow local control to locate large-scale livestock facilities

Designate silver and gold coin as legal tender in payment of specified debts

Eliminate librarian, counselor and nurse requirements for schools

Require prevailing wage for public construction projects

Give more protections to bicycle riders on highways

Authorize “fair share” fees in public employees' collective bargaining

Expand income tax check-off for qualified Iowa zoos

Bar open burning of residential waste in/near cities

Restrict state tuition grants to students at for-profit colleges

Repeal English Iowa's official language law

Expand smoking ban to casino gaming areas

Require birth certificates for presidential and vice presidential candidates

Enact jury nullification provisions

Allow voters to mark “none of these candidates” on ballot

Exempt bars from smoke-free air act

Legalize firearms “silencers”

Regulate rest-area publication displays

Add veterans to civil rights protected groups

Expand private workplace drug testing

Terminate visitation for parents don't pay child support

Curb illegal immigration activities in Iowa

Allow law enforcement agencies to sell weapons they confiscated