Iowa lawmakers conclude ‘historic’ session

DES MOINES — Whether it was good or bad is in the eye of the beholder.

However, it is unarguable that the 2023 session of the Iowa Legislature was significant because of the breadth of new state laws that came out of its four months.

An expansive reorganization of the executive branch of state government.

A new, $345 million state-funded program for private school tuition assistance.

New property tax guidelines that are projected to save Iowa property taxpayers at least $100 million.

New regulations regarding K-12 school books and classroom materials with sexual content, and limits on the teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation.

And a ban on gender-affirming medical care and bathroom use requirements for transgender children in Iowa.

They were all passed by the Republican-majority Iowa Legislature during the session’s 116 calendar days. Most of them featured contentious debates, largely along political party lines.

Shortly after noon Thursday, lawmakers concluded their work for the year. Unless a special session is called, they will not return to resume their work at the Iowa Capitol until next January.

Republicans applaud ‘historic’ session

Republican leaders in the Iowa Legislature frequently used the word “historic” in their descriptions of the 2023 session.

House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, said Republicans followed through on the priorities “that we laid out to Iowans,” including property tax relief and “making sure that parents were a part of their children’s education,” whether through school choice or school transparency requirement for curriculum and books.

“We felt passionately about those things,” Grassley said, noting eight of the 13 priority bills House Republicans filed on the first day of the session made their way in some form to the governor’s desk.

That list includes the property tax cut, increased mental health and nursing home reimbursement rates and funding for a new Iowa Workforce Grant and Incentive Program administered by the state’s College Student Aid Commission, as well as a scholarship program at Iowa’s public universities for high-demand fields.

“Hopefully, that is just one more tool we will have to attract people to stay in Iowa and turn out more college graduates … in areas that this state has need when it comes to workforce,” Grassley said.

Grassley said he believes the property tax bill is a good first step in the right direction. Asked if future Republican plans for tax legislation would include conversations about eliminating the state income tax, Grassley said he prefers that lawmakers continue to lower the income tax rate.

“How we do that? We need to be very smart and have a plan moving forward,” he said. “There needs to be a global conversation of tax policy for the state of Iowa as we move forward” that looks at income, corporate and sales taxes

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, a Republican from Grimes, called it a successful session that tied up loose ends left hanging from last session, including school choice and parental empowerment.

“The governor laid out a very ambitious, bold agenda, and we wanted to focus on school choice,” Whitver said. “We wanted to focus on health care issues. We wanted to focus on workforce issues, parental empowerment, and we wanted to focus on property taxes.

“If you look at that list of agenda items laid out, we were able to accomplish every single one of those. So I think overall it was a very successful session.”

Republican lawmakers last month also passed a sweeping education bill limiting instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation, requiring school administrators to notify parents if a student asks to use a new name or pronouns, and removing books depicting sex acts from school libraries.

“We don’t look at it as going after any one specific group,” Grassley told reporters. “We’re trying to respond to the concerns we’re hearing from Iowans.”

He mentioned transgender-affirming policies like the one adopted last year by the Linn-Mar Community School District that leaves it up to the students whether to notify their parents.

Grassley said lawmakers wanted “pro-family” policies that ensure “parents have input into whatever decision their children make. A lot of these issue that we did this year were really about making sure … to have those open lines of communication and not keep secrets from parents.”

Whitver said lawmakers passed bills that are “common sense,” with “girls using the girls’ restrooms and boys using the boys’ restrooms” and waiting until 18 to “make life-changing decisions.”

Reynolds’ agenda

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds saw nearly all of her legislative priorities passed by the Legislature this year.

Reynolds’ chief legislative goal was achieved early in the session: a new program that will eventually allow every Iowa family to access a taxpayer-funded education savings account to send their children to a private school.

Lawmakers also overhauled state government organization, placed caps on non-economic damages from medical malpractice lawsuits, increased penalties for fentanyl and providing a drug that results in an overdose, and limited discussion of LGBTQ topics in public schools — all policies that originated in Reynolds’ office.

Reynolds told reporters Thursday that she was proud of the legislative session, which started with “transformational education reform.”

She said her private school savings account bill will allow parents to find the school that best fits their children, and that the Legislature paired it with giving more flexibility to public schools in licensing and instruction.

The state Department of Education announced Thursday that applications for the education savings accounts will open May 31. They will be open to all public school students and low-income private school students and eventually will be open to all private school students regardless of family income.

“A lot of other states are watching what we’re doing, and it’s imperative that we do it right,” Reynolds said.

The government reorganization bill, which will reduce Iowa’s cabinet-level agencies and reorganize department duties, was another legislative victory for Reynolds. She said it will save Iowans money and streamline services.

She said the property tax reform measure, a bipartisan bill she signed into law Thursday, was another highlight of the session. She said she wants to bring down state income taxes, saying earlier this year she’d like to eliminate the state individual income tax by the end of her term.

“We have to continue to look for ways that we can reduce the size and scope of government. … We want to continue to see growth,” she said. “Even in a challenging environment, we’re continuing to see growth.”

Though some of Reynolds’ proposed maternal health care bill made it into the budget, lawmakers did not pass a proposal to allow pharmacists to dispense birth control without a prescription.

Reynolds first introduced the proposal in 2019 and said Thursday she plans to revisit the topic next session.

“I think it’s important,” Reynolds said. “We’ll continue to work with the Legislature … and you’ll probably see it again next year as part of my program.”

Democrats disappointed

Democrats did not mince words when describing their view of the 2023 session.

Sen. Zach Wahls, the leader of the Senate Democrats from Coralville, told reporters the session was “one of the most divisive and cruel ever seen in the history of the Iowa Legislature,” and said statehouse Republicans “poured gasoline on the flames of the culture war.”

Wahls criticized Republicans for the private school financial assistance program, their more strict regulation of books in K-12 schools with sexual content, and legislation that impacts transgender children in Iowa.

“This session was a disappointment that sets our state back rather than moving forward,” Wahls said.

In her session-ending remarks on the House floor, Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, the leader of the House Democrats from Windsor Heights, praised the professionalism of House Republicans and celebrated when the parties were able to work on bills in bipartisan fashion.

But Konfrst also delivered a message for teachers and transgender children who she said may feel targeted by some of the legislation passed this year by statehouse Republicans.

“For kids who are just trying to find their way in life, for our trans Iowans, for our LGBTQ kids, for our families who feel targeted this session, who feel that they’re being targeted for who they are and how they live and just want the freedom to be themselves, please know that we see you, we love you, and you belong here in Iowa, no matter what this body might send you as a message,” Konfrst said.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com