Iowa Library Association
Post-Session Legislative Update | Issue #9 | May 31, 2022
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The Capitol on the morning of May 24, 2022. The Legislature would adjourn for the year just after midnight, about 17 hours after this photo was taken.
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The 2022 Session of the 89th Iowa General Assembly officially came to a close when the Senate adjourned “Sine Die” shortly after midnight (12:10 am) on Wednesday, May 25, followed by the House at 12:16 am. Technically, the end arrived just a few minutes into Session Day 136 of the scheduled 100-day session.
Stalemate Ends
The month-long stalemate that delayed the Legislature’s finish was a dispute over taxpayer-funded private school educational scholarships (which some called vouchers). In the end, the House remained short of the votes needed to pass the bill, so the Senate and Governor had to let this priority go for this year. Instead, Republicans in both chambers pushed through a provision to repeal the school open enrollment deadline of March 1.
The Governor has said publicly she will continue to pursue her school choice scholarship legislation and she is supporting candidates in the upcoming June 7th primary election that reflect her position on this issue.
Sine Die and 30 Days
Adjournment followed two very long debate days where all ten budgets, a second tax bill, the first revision of the state’s bottle bill since its passage 44 years ago, and several major policy bills flew through the process. The complicated Health & Human Services Budget took less than 15 minutes in the Iowa Senate, surely a record.
Sine Die translates to “without a day,” which means the Legislature is done until reconvened by the Iowa Constitution on the second Monday of January. In the mean time, the very last phase of the 2022 session has started – the Governor now has 30 days to review and act on legislation. During this time she can either sign or veto the bills sent to her during the mad dash at the end of the session. On budget bills, she has the added option of using her line item veto authority to take out specific sections of those bills while still signing the rest of the bill into law. All the bills that have been sent to the Governor, as well as their current status, can be tracked at the Enrolled Bill page HERE.
Next Up - June 7 Primary
The Legislature’s late adjournment has left many legislators scrambling to deal with a short turnaround before the June 7th primary election. Thanks to the decennial redrawing of legislative lines following the US Census, most legislators have large areas of new voters they are racing to meet, and a handful of legislators are dealing with primary elections against an incumbent colleague.
In short, there are 45 legislative primary elections – 33 in the House and 12 in the Senate. Of the 33 House primaries, they feature 25 Republicans (13 incumbents have primaries, but 6 are matched up against each other) and 8 Democrats. Of the 12 primaries in the Senate, they feature 6 Republicans and 6 Democrats.
Another fun fact, due to retirements, the 2023 General Assembly will feature AT LEAST 45 new members, but probably slightly more than that. That means over 30 percent of the Legislature will be comprised of newly elected legislators that are trying to learn the ropes. That means you should spend some time in the months ahead introducing yourself to your legislative candidates! Be a resource for them on your issues!
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The Senate reaching Sine Die adjournment at 12:10am on May 25, 2022. |
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Library Issues
The session began with a lot of unfortunate discussion about libraries, book bans, censorship, teachers, and many other issues. Throughout the session, ILA's lobbyists relied on support and outreach from the ILA board, IASL members and many of you as members to weigh in with legislators.
We ended up able to withstand a push for a number of initiatives that would have targeted intellectual freedom, teacher librarian credentials, and many others. On top of that, we finished the 2022 legislative session with level funding for the State Library, Enrich Iowa, and Brainfuse. We could not have done this without your help as well as the help of dozens of Republican and Democrat legislators who ensured that these bills did not advance.
While this is all good news, we have a lot of work to do in the weeks and months ahead. The issues we fought this session are not gone, but instead will likely become campaign issues. Libraries and librarians need to be vocal with their legislators and legislative candidates this summer and fall in order to create and build on the relationships we need prior to the 2023 legislative session.
Start planning now to reach out to your legislators! Invite them for a tour, meet them for coffee, show them how to use some of your services like Brainfuse, or better yet, see if you can help their campaign!
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SFY23 Appropriation Bill/Status/Most Recent LSA Fiscal Analysis (if available)
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HF 2557 Transportation, Infrastructure & Capitals / Sent to Governor / Link
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HF 2558 Judicial Branch / Sent to Governor / Link
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HF 2559 Justice Systems / Sent to Governor / Link
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HF 2560 Agriculture and Natural Resources / Sent to Governor / Link
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HF 2564 Economic Development / Sent to Governor / Link
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SF 2385 (was HF 2565) Administration & Regulation / Sent to Governor / Link
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HF 2575 Education / Sent to Governor / Link
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HF 2578 Health and Human Services / Sent to Governor/ Link
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HF 2579 Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) / Sent to Governor / Link
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HF 2589 Standings / Sent to Governor/ N/A
Note that ALL of the LSA Fiscal Analysis links have CHANGED since the last update to reflect the House and Senate’s compromise version of each bill.
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The House reaching Sine Die adjournment at 12:16am on May 25, 2022. |
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The bills below are on their way to the Governor for her signature, veto or line item veto (only allowed on spending bills). If you were watching a bill on this list from an earlier update, it no longer appears here because it did not advance.
Budgets
Appropriates $45.3 million to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa Finance Authority, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and Iowa Workforce Development, for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 (FY23). This is a decrease of $2.7 million.
Appropriates $992.9 million for the Department of Education, College Student Aid Commission, Department for the Blind, and state universities, for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 (FY23). This is an increase of $20.8 million.
Education
Appropriates $992.9 million for the Department of Education, College Student Aid Commission, Department for the Blind, and state universities, for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 (FY23). This is an increase of $20.8 million.
Public Health
Prohibits requiring COVID-19 immunization to enroll in a childcare center or school.
Tax
The House, Senate and Governor's compromise tax reform bill.
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Your Bill Tracker
Click above to see status of important bills, or create your own report with our custom download.
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Town Halls & Public Forums
Find a local event with your state or federal elected officials here. Three weeks are shown at a time on this website.
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Your Legislative Team:
Your Advocacy Toolkit:
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Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)
Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
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