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Legislative Republicans are working on a massive tax deal. Here’s where they disagree.
Lengthy tax proposals are advancing in both the House and the Senate, each with intractable differences, as the Legislature trudges through its second week of overtime. On many issues, the two chambers agree: accelerating income tax cuts, expanding eligibility for child care tax credits, mandating telehealth parity and more. It’s a few big-ticket items, like […]
Republican lawmaker denies Heritage Action involvement in election bill
A key Republican lawmaker on Thursday denied statements by the head of Heritage Action for America about the conservative lobbying group’s role in the approval of voting restrictions this year in Iowa. Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action for America, said in a leaked video that her organization had drafted parts of and helped […]
State auditor launches investigation into Scott County election worker payments
Iowa’s state auditor will investigate “potential overpayments” to poll workers by the Scott County auditor during an election last year, the office announced Thursday. Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz paid poll workers $15 an hour during the June 2020 primary, the Quad-City Times reported, exceeding the $12 per hour maximum that the Scott County Board […]
Iowa eliminates statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse
Children who experienced sexual abuse will have no time limit to take legal action against their abusers under a new Iowa law. “Today Iowa stands in support of survivors of sexual violence as we become the 14th state to eliminate the statute of limitations for these heinous crimes,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday in a […]
Reynolds urges Iowans to ‘lean further into normal,’ return to work
Gov. Kim Reynolds encouraged Iowans to “lean further into normal” after a year of COVID-19 closures, restrictions and precautions. “There’s no reason for us to continue to fear COVID-19 any longer,” Reynolds said. “We know how to manage it. Individuals can be trusted to make decisions that will keep us on a path forward.” At […]
Instagram for kids? Iowa attorney general urges Facebook to abandon app development
Attorneys general from 44 states, including Iowa, say an Instagram app for children could lead to cyberbullying, mental distress and body-image issues. The bipartisan group of attorneys general sent a letter Monday to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to abandon development of a kid-friendly Instagram platform. Zuckerberg announced in March that the company intended […]
Extra unemployment benefits will end in June, Reynolds orders
Unemployed Iowans will lose their extra $300 per week benefit and other federal pandemic unemployment assistance in June, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday. “Federal pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs initially provided displaced Iowans with crucial assistance when the pandemic began,” Reynolds said in a press release. “But now that our businesses and schools have reopened, these […]
Reynolds signs voluntary diversity ban into law, extends open enrollment for five districts
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law Monday afternoon that bans voluntary diversity plans at Iowa schools. School districts will no longer be able to restrict open enrollment to promote diversity at an institution. The change will affect five school districts: Des Moines, Davenport and Waterloo, which have socioeconomic metrics of diversity, and West […]
‘If we don’t do it now … this is never going to happen’: Senators advance mental health tax cut
There’s still no agreement between the House and Senate on taxes as both chambers advance mismatched proposals. The Senate held a meeting Monday about Senate File 1276, the tax “compromise” proposed last week by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The House has not agreed to the proposal. Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, said Reynolds’ plan was “the […]
House passes bills addressing alcohol, sex crimes, tax evasion as first week of overtime ends
The House convened Friday afternoon to pass nearly a dozen bills, many of which have been bouncing between chambers. “There’s not a whole lot of common sense in this building, and there’s virtually none across the rotunda,” Rep. David Maxwell, R-Gibson, said in his opening comments on an agriculture bill that had been volleyed back […]
House passes several budget bills, but that doesn’t mean they’ve struck a deal
House lawmakers on Thursday passed budget proposals on agriculture, infrastructure, economic development and education. But House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said the Senate and Gov. Kim Reynolds have not agreed to the bills. “We’ve just decided it’s time to get those moving through the process,” Grassley said, noting that the 100-member House takes longer […]
House tax plan advances amid bipartisan opposition to Senate’s mental health change
Democrats in the Iowa House lined up behind Republicans’ tax proposal for one main reason, Rep. Charles Isenhart said Thursday: “It’s not the Senate bill.” Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to advance the House tax proposal. The bill would remove triggers for the 2018 tax cuts, phase out […]