Hello District 84 from the State Capitol!

Week two for the 2023 session was shortened by a day due to the Martin Luther King holiday on January 16^th, but all of the legislators were busy with their committees and setting up their subcommittees for potential bills to become law.

I attended a Linn County Farm Bureau legislative meeting in Hiawatha on Jan. 16^th for the first time with fellow Linn County Representatives Cindy Golding, Art Stead, and Sami Scheetz. These meetings give legislators ideas to help farmers be the best stewards of the land and livestock. A FB priority pertaining to the carbon pipelines is that a minimum 90% of landowners must agree to the contract for the pipeline on their property before eminent domain is exercised on the remaining 10% landowners’ property.

The first and foremost topic was the Students First Act, House File 68. All of the legislators have been getting hundreds of emails on both sides of this and I appreciate all of the emails from the district. By the time you are reading this, we will have voted on this bill on the House floor. This proposal, if signed into law, will contribute $7,598 into an educational savings account for each student attending a private school. When fully implemented, the cost of this program is expected to be $341 million. If it passes, I will go into much more detail next week.

In a completely different subject, if anyone is looking to help with our election process, here is some info. It takes around 10,000 Iowans to staff polling places for a statewide election. 2023 isn’t a general election year, but several counties have local elections on March 7, and the statewide city-school elections take place this November. County auditors are constantly looking for more people to serve. 

Poll workers check-in voters, answer questions, and help ensure elections run smoothly in each precinct. It’s a great way to serve your state and nation, and you get paid!  State law requires a bipartisan balance of poll workers at each precinct. To learn more, visit Pollworker.Iowa.gov. You can also contact the awesome team at the Benton County Auditor’s office at 319-472-2365 for more information.

I hope this finds you healthy, safe, and please be careful if you’re driving on snow-covered roads. Have a great week!