‘We’re going to do what we need to do’ to wrap up legislative session

DES MOINES - The Iowa Statehouse will become the “people's house” today.

Activities at the Capitol will include ceremonies to honor the Iowans who perished in the 1945 USS Indianapolis tragedy, and a Prayer for Life vigil by abortion opponents commemorating the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

A public hearing on proposed education reform being sought by Gov. Terry Branstad also is slated for tonight in the House chambers.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said lawmakers have an agenda that is narrow and focused heading into the final two months of the 2012 session.

“It's why I think you don't see as many bills as you have maybe in previous years,” he said.

House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, said the priority reforms in education, property taxes and mental health will continue to get legislative attention and majority Republicans continue to craft their fiscal 2013 spending measures.

“The budget is always the long pole in the tent,” Paulsen noted.

With less than two weeks until the second funnel deadline, Upmeyer said supporters of various non-money bills will be deciding whether they have the votes to move forward.

“People have time to make their case on bills or things they're interested in, but they need to survive the second funnel, so people will be moving to build the support that they need for any of their issues,” she said. “We all predicted that the second funnel was not going to be as lively as the first and there wasn't a great deal of drama in the first. I think things are winnowing down nicely. People are focused and we're going to do what we need to do.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said this week isn't do-or-die for bills to clear a legislative chamber but it's close.

“The later it is, the less likely it is that the other chamber will take it up,” he said. “That's probably more true of controversial bills than of non-con bills.”

Gronstal was non-committal whether legislation that would legalize online poker would see Senate floor debate this week, although he said he believed the legislation is probably needed.

“We have online gambling right now in Iowa. That exists. It's unregulated, unrestricted and in many cases unreliable,” he said. “The question is: are we going to do anything to regulate it appropriately in the state of Iowa?

“We'll see if there's a consensus in the Senate to move it forward,” Gronstal added. “If we're convinced that it's absolutely dead in the other chamber, I don't know that we'll spend time and energy on that. I'm not into playing this game of passing bills so we can prove to Iowans where we differ.”

Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, floor manager of the traffic enforcement camera ban legislation, said he is working hard to get the 51st vote needed for House passage.

“I'm doing some arm twisting,” he said. “There's a chance it might not go anywhere. I'd like to get something out. I really do believe they should be banned in the state. But I respect my colleagues and not all of them are there yet.”