Week 1 Legislative Recap - January 11 - 15

The 89th Iowa General Assembly gaveled in on Monday, January 11. Below is our recap of the first week, specific IEC program updates, and our first bill tracker featuring the bills IEC is watching or working on at this time. 

The first week of the 2021 Legislative Session contained a much different tone than in years past. While the opening speeches from legislative leadership, the governor, and the chief justice took place as usual, the Covid-19 pandemic and continued civil unrest in our nation's Capitol has affected operations. 

The Iowa Legislature released state capitol protocols which limit in-person participation, and instead encourage lobbyists and the general public to log in online. Social distancing is encouraged, and public access at the Capitol building has been restricted to a few areas. This week, masks were worn by legislators and lobbyists, and the typical throng of public visitors was reduced to a handful of demonstrators at the beginning of the week. 

Opening day speeches of the legislative leaders on Monday, January 11, took a variety of tones. Majority Leader Windschitl stated an intention of working with Democrats in an attempt to encourage more bi-partisanship. Emotions over the attack in Washington D.C. were given voice by House Minority Leader Pritchard, who expressed concern over the political stance that has led to recent escalated attacks and the potential for ongoing violence in Iowa communities. While Majority Leader Whitver and Speaker Grassley attempted a steady forward focus on legislative priorities, new Senate President Chapman and Senate Minority Leader Wahls focused on political ideologies, leaving some to wonder how the tone of the session will manifest. 

With the extreme conditions facing our nation, many Iowans want to see their leadership take the moral high ground and find a way to work together. From a procedural standpoint, it appears that leadership has done a good job of identifying a new way to keep Iowans informed of legislative activity and provide a means for legislators to participate in the process safely.  The coming days will reveal where the strengths of this new system exist, and how the important policy decisions facing our state will be developed.  

The crowds typically packed into the chamber for the Governor's condition of the state speech were reduced to a small group. The Governor moved her speech to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12, to allow the public to tune in to the live stream available. During that speech, she outlined priorities including expanding broadband access statewide by investing $150 million in funding annually for three years and asking the legislature to pass a bill to mandate that schools return to 100% in-person learning. To that end, she intends to provide increased funding of 3.7% in FY 2022 to $8.079 billion and by 2.3% in FY 2023 to $8.275 billion. Schools will also receive another $20 million in pandemic aid. 

Although she paused her legislative initiative, Invest in Iowa, from last session, she outlined a proposal to increase children's mental health funding by $15 million for the next two years. She also intends to double the affordable housing credit to $50 million, and make work-based learning available to all Iowa students by increasing the accessibility of the Future Ready Iowa Program, along with plans to increase the availability and affordability of childcare. With the suspension of the Invest in Iowa Act, there will not be a sales tax increase that would fund the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. Without a sales tax increase, reliable natural resources funding has also been put on hold leaving the door open for individual bills to supplement important water policy and outdoor preservation initiatives.  

 

Energy Program Activity

So far, there have been no bills introduced this session that warrant a reaction from the energy program. We are hopeful that we will see legislation introduced this cycle that expands the state solar investment tax credit by paying down the extended waiting list, increasing the spending cap, and decoupling it from the federal tax credit. IEC will continue to monitor closely, while also advancing our agenda of interests.

 

Water Program Activity

Water program action last week focused primarily on Gov. Reynolds’s decision not to re-introduce the Invest in Iowa Act, which would have funded IWILL. Despite the governor’s decision, IEC and our partners will not be sitting on our heels - we have a number of priority issues that we will be tracking and working on. These issues include, among others: outdoor recreation and natural resources funding, particularly as the state looks toward Covid-19 recovery; soil health legislation; stable funding for watershed coordinators; and riparian buffers.

We will also be keeping an eye out for legislation that would be harmful to the environment or weaken existing environmental protections, which will be particularly important this session as we navigate new Covid-19-related processes and procedures in both chambers that have the potential to limit public participation. Stay tuned as we continue to be Iowans’ voice at the Capitol during what will undoubtedly be a session unlike anything we have seen before.

 

Legislative Dates of Interest

1/29 - IEC's Legislative Lunch 
2/25 - IEC's Environmental Advocacy Day (virtual)
3/5 -   First funnel
4/2 -   Second funnel
4/30 - 2021 Legislative Session slated to close

 

Legislative News of Interest: 

- IEC's water program lobbyist Angela Davis shared her insights into a session that will require flexibility and adaptability. Read her guest blog post
 
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