Katie P. Hall
Director of Government Affairs
khall@iowainstitute.coop
O: 515-292-2667
C: 515-686-1066

Week 8: March 2, 2018
State
1.   Tax Reform Monitoring, UPDATED
·         SF2383 :Tax Reform-- OPPOSE
·       Passed out of Senate on Wednesday on 29-21 vote
·       Would increase taxes on Credit Union
·       Cuts $1.2 billion in taxes over the next five years
·        HSB671 : Governor's Tax Bill-- UNDECIDED
·       Does NOT increase taxes for Credit Unions
·       Cuts $1.7 billion in taxes over the next 5 years
·       Total State budget is ~$7 billion

2.   Future Ready Iowa: SF2327 —Support, UNCHANGED
·        Committee approved bill
·        Creates a future ready Iowa Act to strengthen workforce development
·        Establishes registered apprenticeship development program, a volunteer mentoring program, a summer youth intern program, summer postsecondary courses for H.S. students aligned with high-demand career pathways, an employer innovation fund, and future ready Iowa skilled workforce scholarship and grant programs and funds
·        Ties in with SF2348 : In-Demand Career Assistance would provide $5.73 million in funding in 2022 and $41.36 million in 2026
·        Would provide income tax credit for high-demand jobs, require students enroll in training for certain high-demand jobs at community colleges while maintaining a 2.0 GPA

2.   Utility Matters: SF2311 —Monitoring, UPDATED
·      Additional amendments filed this week: S5041
·       Amendments: S5038 and S5039
·       Removes state policies that are duplicative of existing federal policies

3.    Deappropriations: SF2117 Monitoring, UNFINISHED BUSINESS
·        House side supports cuts of ~$33 million, Senate side ~$44 million
·        Placed on calendar as unfinished business on 2.15.18
·        Amendment S5005 cuts $32 million (instead of $52 million) from this year's budget
·        Amendments to S5005 (that passed) include, S5008 : prohibits DOJ reducing victim assistance grants & S5007 : clarifies supplemental reimbursement for ground emergency transport of medicaid beneficiaries, reduces per diem for legislators to 85 days

4.   Relating to Water Quality: HF2440 —Monitoring, NEW
·      Creates appropriations and date provisions

This week, the Senate was quick to debate and vote on SF2383 (tax reform). They passed the bill through the Senate to the House on Wednesday. The House is also working on HSB671 (Governor's tax plan) so this is a focus for the legislative session. With Federal tax cuts and Iowa's federal tax deductibility, there would be an additional ~$100 million in tax revenue without State tax reform.

On Tuesday, Secretary of Ag. Bill Northey was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to his appointed post at the USDA. Deputy Secretary Mike Naig was named by the Governor as Secretary of Ag on Thursday, serving the remainder of Northey's term until November 2018 elections.

I deleted several bills from the update this week to streamline communication on active movers. I'll continue to keep you updated as bills progress at the capitol.

Federal
1.      Tax Reform: Sect. 199A Monitoring, UNCHANGED
·         Representative Young's letter : get rid of 199A and reform with old 199

Want to speak with your federal representatives?
D.C. office numbers and e-mail addresses below. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley: 202-224-4120 (Andrew Brandt: andrew_brandt@grassley.senate.gov)
Sen. Joni Ernst: 202-224-3254 (Michael Dolch: michael_dolch@ernst.senate.gov)
Rep. Steve King: 202-225-4426 (Matt Meiners: matt.meiners@mail.house.gov)
Rep. Rod Blum: 202-225-2911 (Kelsey Griswold: kelsey.griswold@mail.house.gov)
Rep. Dave Loebsack: 202-225-6576 (Will Collier: will.collier@mail.house.gov)
Rep. David Young: 202-225-5476 (Steph Carlson: stephanie.carlson@mail.house.gov)

The Iowa Institute Calendar:
March 9: Board Meeting in Ames


Have a wonderful weekend,
-Katie