Greetings from the Golden Dome! It takes a while to allow the dust to settle after each session to be able to properly contemplate and soak in all that occurred. I can’t imagine being a full-time legislator and not being able to unplug to properly evaluate policy and life in general. The following are some of the situations this session that stood out for me personally:
Swearing In & the Loss of a Good Friend, Representative Graber
Being sworn in for my second term was bittersweet. It seems like yesterday that I was sworn in for my first term. The difference in emotions and perspective this time versus the first time was drastic. The first time I had no idea what to expect or what to focus on. Just like with any transition in life, it just takes time and space to allow someone to get settled in and feel comfortable. For me this took a few years, because right away I had to think about redistricting and how to adjust to that. The second time being sworn in was much more comfortable for me. I felt for the first time true confidence and clarity in what my goals and expectations should be as your voice at the Capitol.
Shortly after we were sworn in, the Capitol lost a dear brother in Representative Graber. He and I were elected at the same time. I enjoyed every interaction I had with him. We both came from rodeo towns and so I enjoyed visiting him and his hometown celebration at Fort Madison. Those are some memories I will cherish. He lived a life of genuine public service and he finished strong.
Civics Education
I had the honor and privilege to floor manage the Civics Test Requirement bill. Data shows that society is consistently knowing less every year about how government works, the purpose of government, and the responsibility we have as citizens in a society. One study shows that only 1/3 of our population can name the three branches of government. We can and must do better! With the passage of SF369, students will now be required to score 60% or better on a version of the same test the US Citizenship and Immigration Services provide for immigrants in order to graduate. This new standard applies to public, private, and GED students. We should not have a higher standard for immigrants than we do of our own students. This simple change does not solve everything regarding proper civics education, but it does ensure that some basic facts are universally known about how our society functions.
Education Budget
This year I had a new assignment given to me by leadership to chair the Education Appropriations subcommittee. This budget includes everything outside of SSA funding and primarily involves the Regent universities and community colleges. Within this budget negotiation was one of my personal priorities which was to increase Teach Iowa Scholar funding. This program helps incentivize teachers to prepare and apply for positions that are experiencing shortages by providing some loan forgiveness.
Next year I would like to see if we can add more to this program and target more rural Iowa schools with that additional funding. Community colleges also saw an increase. The rationale for this is they have a wider footprint across Iowa and better reflect the needs of their communities. They also just went through a major change with their funding formula and could use some extra dollars to help with that transition. The last two major increases are $1 million being dedicated to the University of Iowa for cancer research as well as an increase of $3.5 million for the Health Care Professional Incentive Program.
Gender Identity
Iowa joined many other states by removing ‘gender identity’ in our Civil Rights code. The past few years we have passed legislation to protect girls’ sports and bathrooms as well as stopping taxpayer dollars from going toward gender transitioning surgeries. These common-sense reforms were in jeopardy by allowing ‘gender identity’ to remain in the Civil Rights code. I believe the Civil Rights code was meant to protect things about Iowans that are unchangeable or already constitutionally protected.
Property Rights
There was a major divide in our caucus, not about whether to do something in regard to eminent domain as it related to carbon pipelines, but which path to take. Do we just pass legislation that is both retroactive and looks to the future as well, or pass legislation that looks to the future and allows private lawsuits against Summit to run their own course through the system? After many long conversations, and as I had previously discussed in my last newsletter, HF639 passed the Senate and was sent to Governor Reynolds’ desk. As I write this, it is still unknown as to what the Governor will do regarding HF639.
These are just a few of many pieces of major legislation that were passed this year. Others that I do not have the space to elaborate on are: distracted driving (ensuring safer highways), limitations of cell phones in schools (ensuring our students stay focused), PBM reform (helping our rural pharmacies), and vaccine exemption notifications (ensuring honest conversations between parents and schools) just to name a few.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you. Feel free to reach out to me if you ever have questions or concerns at jesse.green@legis.iowa.gov.
