State
1. Tax Reform
—
Monitoring,
UNCHANGED
· Passed out of Senate on Wednesday on 29-21 vote
· Would increase taxes on Credit Union but cuts $1.2 billion in taxes over 5 years
·
HSB671
: Governor's Tax Bill-- UNDECIDED
· Does NOT increase taxes for Credit Unions but cuts $1.7 billion in taxes over 6 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
· Passed out of the Senate on Tuesday (27-23 vote) referred to Commerce
· Amendments: Took out section 17 that would have codified existing practices for rate differentiation
3. Relating to Water Quality:
HF2440
—Monitoring,
UPDATED
· Passed out of Natural Resources Committee with a 9 to 3 vote
· Amendment S5129 by David Johnson changes timeline slightly
· Strikes a requirement for drainage districts to use edge-of-field infrastructure
· Creates appropriations and date provisions
4. Deappropriations:
SF2117
—
Monitoring,
UNCHANGED: 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
On Monday, Deputy Secretary, Mike Naig was sworn in as Secretary of Ag. He will serve the remainder of Secretary Northey's term and will be seeking election in November.
On Tuesday, Bill Northey was sworn in by U.S. Secretary of Ag, Sonny Perdue. He will now serve as USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, overseeing the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Risk Management Agency (RMA) and roughly 20,000 employees.
A Revenue Estimating Conference will be held at the capitol on Friday, March 9th at 1:00pm. There has been talk state revenues increased and budget cuts may not be as severe as originally anticipated.
Federal
· Representative King's team is sending a letter to House Ways and Means & Senate Finance Committees in support of 20% net income deduction to farmers who do business with co-ops and private elevators
Want to speak with your federal representatives?
D.C. office numbers and e-mail addresses below (for ag policy.
