By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa House Ways and Means Committee has introduced a bill similar to one introduced last month in the Iowa Senate that would establish a metered water excise tax. House Study Bill 229 exempts from the state sales tax the sales price from the sale […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa Senate voted unanimously Thursday to adopt a bill that would provide a limited property tax exemption for “eyesore properties” that are repaired by their owners. Senate File 480 would authorize a city or county to provide a property tax exemption for up to […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday to adopt four bills. Among them was a bill to expand the distance from funerals and memorial services, funeral processions, or burial services in which protests are prohibited. As originally constructed, House File 558 would have created […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   State Rep. Dave Jacoby (D-Coralville) has introduced five new bills this week in the Iowa House of Representatives. Because they did not make it through the first legislative funnel dead, they’re unlikely to advance this session. But, they can be brought up during next year’s […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa General Assembly, through separate resolutions in the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate, reaffirmed its relationship with the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Director General Calvin Chen-huan Ho, the official trade representative for the […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa House of Representatives quickly adopted six new bills, all by unanimous votes, Wednesday. They were: Senate File 217 – a substitute bill for House File 285, an act to amend Iowa Code as it relates to the administration and duties of the Iowa […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Senate to up the House-amended version of Senate File 227 on Wednesday afternoon. The bill, which would establish a new earliest school start date of Aug. 23, included a House amendment that was approved with its version of the bill Tuesday, which: reinstated financial […]

By The Iowa Statesman   The Talkers Magazine has released its annual list of most powerful and influential talk radio hosts in the country, and this year, there are three Iowa-based hosts on the list. All of them operate out of the Des Moines area. Topping the “Heavy Hundred” this […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Apparently, the increased funding for the Road Use Tax Fund afforded by Iowa’s recent gas tax increase wasn’t enough for the construction lobby in Des Moines. House Study Bill 226, introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee this week, would amend Iowa Code as […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   State Sen. Brad Zaun (R-Urbandale) has had enough of the Iowa Income Tax. So, this week he authored a new bill that would repeal the income tax in exchange for a higher state sales and use tax – moed after the well-known national effort commonly […]

Bob Eschliman Editor   While only eight new bills were offered during the past week, the Iowa General Assembly has been at work in committees and floor debate. With the recent release of a new state revenue estimate, work will soon begin in earnest on the new biennial budget. There […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill to provide for the regulation of “transportation network companies,” such as Uber, during morning debate Tuesday. House File 394’s floor manager, state Rep. Chris Hagenow (R-Windsor Heights), said the proposed legislation was meant to provide “one […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Following a rigorous, but civil, debate over proposed legislation aimed at preventing people younger than 18 from using tanning beds, the Iowa Senate passed the bill on a party- vote. Senate File 232 was adopted Tuesday, 26-23, following 28 minutes of debate, most of which […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The fight that brewed in the Iowa House of Representatives on Tuesday over a bill to amend the state’s official school start date wasn’t over what most observers might have expected. The debate over Senate File 227, the substitute bill for House File 307, focused […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   A group of eight Republicans in the Iowa Senate introduced a bill last Thursday that would redefine “person” in the context of the crime of murder. This new “personhood bill” would have the effect of making abortion a crime in Iowa. The new definition of […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Outside observers often see legislative articles that talk about the “spirited debates” Republicans and Democrats have over important issues, but in reality, most bills are quickly and quietly adopted in both chambers of the Iowa General Assembly. Monday’s floor debate in the Iowa Senate was […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   A bill currently being considered in an Iowa Senate subcommittee would create a pilot program to explore school-based mental health services provided by area education agencies. Senate File 430, which is a successor to Senate File 281 proposed by state Sen. Rob Hogg (D-Cedar Rapids), […]

From Press Release   The Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Wing will host the opening of their new storefront recruiting office, or Recruiting Operations Center, at 1 p.m. Tuesday. The ROC, located at 7205 Vista Drive, West Des Moines, is the first off-base recruiting office within the Iowa Air National […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The announcement of the March Revenue Estimating Conference’s estimated General Fund revenues typically signals the in-earnest beginning of the final budget-setting process in Iowa. But, in reality, the setting of budgets is a never-ending year-round process. With the use of the REC’s estimate, appropriations requests […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Despite revenues that significantly lagged last year’s March estimate, the Revenue Estimating Conference revised its revenue estimates for fiscal years 2015 and 2016. Those estimates will significantly impact the biennial budget the General Assembly will spend much of the remaining session formulating. But, as last […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa Senate approved a bill Thursday to allow Iowans to register to vote electronically. Senate File 331, offers an on electronic voter registration option to Iowa voters in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Office of Secretary of State. Floor manager […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa House of Representatives voted on a resolution Thursday that applies to Congress to call for a “convention of states” outd in Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The purpose of that convention would be to propose amendments to the Constitution to impose fiscal […]

From Press Release   Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds today met with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and shared Iowa’s efforts in implementing the science-based Nutrient Reduction Strategy and urged the EPA to maintain a strong and robust Renewable Fuel Standard. The meeting to place while the lt. governor […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Transportation issued evaluations of automated traffic enforcement cameras in six Iowa cities. As part of those evaluations, it directed those cities to move, or remove entirely, some of their cameras. IDOT has posted those evaluation reports, as well as the […]

Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa General Assembly is now producing far fewer bills as it devotes time to floor debate and preparations to consider the biennial state budget. There have been 16 enrolled bills – those adopted by both chambers and sent to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad for […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa Senate was quickly and quietly moving through a slate of than a dozen bills Wednesday when state Sen. Herman Quirmbach (D-Ames) offered up a bill to add new subjects to the Iowa Core Curriculum. Senate File 431 is an act to add […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa House of Representatives began debate on a bill that amends collective bargaining laws for public school districts and area education agencies at 4:44 p.m. Tuesday. Nineteen hours and 38 minutes later, it finally voted on the proposed legislation. House File 549 would amend […]

By The Iowa Statesman   Although Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee isn’t officially a candidate for president, he’s acting and like a contender each day. Tomorrow, he will be making stops in Le Mars and Orange City in northwest Iowa. His first stop will be at 8:30 a.m. […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Iowa Senate passed a bill Tuesday that prohibits mental health professionals from engaging in “conversion therapy” with patients younger than 18. Senate File 334, which passed on a 26-24 party vote, provides that a mental health provider who engages in sexual orientation change […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   After a short debate over whether or not “the hammer” was too big or too small, the Iowa House of Representatives voted Tuesday to adopt a bill that significantly toughens state laws with regard to synthetic drugs, like K2, a synthetic form of marijuana also […]

From Press Release   Today, Donald Trump, the globally renowned business mogul, announced he is forming an exploratory committee to determine whether he will run for the office of the President of the United States of America. Trump stated, “I have a great for our country, but it is […]

By Drew Jones Correspondent   Newspaper readers in a number of Iowa communities had raised eyebrows during the past month by an ad campaign called “Let’s Stop HIV Together” that has featured photos and stories of non-traditional relationships. One ad features former Olympian Greg Louganis and reads: “I am a […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details. And it couldn’t be true for Iowa House leadership regarding a resolution offered by the Democrat minority this week. On its title, House Resolution 18 – authored by state Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D-Ames) […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Despite the fact the first legislative “funnel” dead has passed, legislators in the General Assembly are still proposing new bills in both the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate. In the House, a pair of bills focus on the creation of a new […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   A bill that would requires that any citation issued as a result of a traffic enforcement camera include a breakdown of what entities receive a portion of the fines or fees is on the Iowa House of Representatives debate calendar. House File 597, a successor […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   A bill offered by state Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) would amend Iowa Code as it relates to the process by which contraband and “proceeds or instrumentalities related to criminal activity” may be seized by the state and later sold. Critics call criminal asset forfeiture […]

By The Iowa Statesman   The first full week of daily bill debate in the Iowa General Assembly was fairly spectacular. And the second week has the los of even impending fireworks, in both chambers. In the House, several new bills have been added to the tentative debate calendar. […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by state Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City), has introduced a bill that would amend the deduction from the individual income tax, corporate income tax, and franchise tax of wages paid relating to the employment of an individual with […]

From Press Release   On Saturday, March 7, the Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing formally recognized the unit’s new designation as the 132nd Wing and the Wing’s new Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group. The 132nd Wing, which has served as an aerial reconnaissance and combat fighter unit for […]

By The Iowa Statesman   Three of Iowa’s NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams qualified for this year’s national tournament, and all of them received upper-division seeds in their respective regions. And, for the first time ever, Iowans won’t have to dream up an imaginary national championship for any of […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Christian conservatives who advocate for personhood often decry bills that fall short of abolishing abortion as “and then you get to kill the baby” bills. For nearly five hours Thursday, the Iowa House of Representatives debated a bill that made that figurative statement far […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   If you’re currently watching Spring Training, trying to get a clue as to who you should pick next month in your fantasy baseball draft, don’t worry. Your activities may soon, finally, be legal in Iowa. Not that there was ever a threat of police breaking […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor     Thursday, the Iowa House of Representatives considered a bill to add only seven s to existing child labor laws, and proceeded to debate the proposed legislation for than 30 minutes. House File 397 defined the term “occasional work” as it applies to children. […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   The Senate to up Senate File 75 during the morning session. The bill adds snowplows used for snow removal and ice treatments to Iowa’s “move over” law and adding blue and white lights. Floor manager, state Sen. Chris Brase (D-Muscatine), noted the Iowa Department of […]

By The Iowa Statesman   According to The Wall Street Journal, four of the biggest names on Wall Street struggled to pass the Federal Reserve’s 2015 “stress tests,” and the U.S. units of two foreign banks fell short, underscoring the constraint the annual exercise imposes on the largest banks […]

By The Iowa Statesman   This morning, Gov. Terry Branstad announced the launch of the administration’s use of a mobile application that allows individuals to live-stream events through their account. Meerkat uses mobile devices, such as an iPhone or iPad, to broadcast events live to the account holder’s […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   For decades, the Republican Party of Iowa has hosted the Iowa Straw Poll as a means of winnowing the field in advance of the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucus. And, ever since the very first Straw Poll was held in 1979, it has been held on the […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor   Tuesday was a fairly wild day in the Iowa Statehouse, but on Wednesday, in the Iowa House of Representatives cranked the intensity up another notch. The House remained calm through the first three of four bills it debated, House File 447, House File 468, and […]

By Bob Eschliman Editor     The Iowa Senate Republican Caucus can now sympathize with Alexander Cooper, the protagonist in the classic children’s bo-turned family film “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” Wednesday was a not-so-good day during afternoon floor debate of three bills, two of […]

From Press Release   In an effort to keep Iowa retirees from relocating to tax friendly climates, Senator Roby Smith, R-Davenport, introduced legislation to phase out taxation on pensions, annuities and retirement accounts. “Iowa must step up to prevent losing our retirees to other states,” Senator Smith said. “The […]