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Capitol Notebook: Kaufmann to lead House tax policy committee
Also, 4 public transit infrastructure projects receive $1.5 million in state funding

Jul. 12, 2022 3:19 pm
State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, speaks Oct. 20, 2020, during a visit with former Gov. Terry Branstad in Solon. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
DES MOINES — Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, is the new chairman of the Iowa House’s committee on tax policy, House Republicans announced Tuesday.
Kaufmann was appointed to the post by House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford. As committee chairman, he succeeds Rep. Lee Klein, R-Monticello, who will not return to the Iowa Legislature next year after being defeated in the Republican primary elections in June.
Kaufmann has served on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee since 2017. He has previously served as chairman of the House committees on state government and government oversight.
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“Rep. Hein is leaving big shoes to fill and I am grateful for my years of experience on the committee with him at the helm,” Kaufmann said in a statement. “As the Biden administration has Iowans struggling to keep up with rising inflation and unprecedented gas prices, the job of ensuring Iowans keep more of their hard-earned paychecks has become all the more important. As Chairman of Ways and Means, I will make it my mission to deliver a tax code that favors everyday Iowans and find additional opportunities to ease the tax burden on Iowans.”
Republicans have agenda-setting majorities in both the Iowa House and Senate going into this fall’s general election.
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING: Four public transit infrastructure projects received a total of $1.5 million in funding from the state transportation department at its meeting in Ames.
From the state Public Transit Infrastructure Grant Program, the Iowa Department of Transportation awarded:
- $582,000 to rehabilitate the maintenance shop at CyRide in Ames.
- $480,000 to the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission for facility renovation.
- $238,000 for a new automated bus wash at the Siouxland Regional Transit System.
- $200,000 to the North Iowa Area Council of Governments to replace insulation and install a vapor barrier at a facility storage and maintenance area.
The projects were selected out of seven applications requesting more than $5.6 million, a DOT official said.
Gazette Des Moines Bureau