by CBI Lobbyist Jeff Boeyink - Partner, LS2 Group Overview / Major Events The 88th Iowa General Assembly began its work on Monday, January 14 (which is the latest day possible for a start date as required by our Constitution). This year all of the ceremonial activities and joint conventions were scheduled for the first week: January 15: Joint Convention to receive the Condition of the State address January 16: Joint Convention to receive the Condition of the Judiciary address January 17: Joint Convention to receive the Condition of the National Guard address January 18: Joint Convention to canvass the most recent election for Governor and Lt. Governor, certify the results, and administer the Oath of Office to the Governor-elect and Lt. Governor-elect Lots of New Faces and New Committee Leaders The 2018 election brought a significant amount of change to both Chambers. Iowans appear very adept at enforcing term limits, even if we do not have state law that requires such. |
Iowa Senate: 32R-18D (R’s gained 3 seats)—nine new Senators Iowa House: 54R-46D (D’s gained 5 seats)—22 new Representatives In the Senate, both the Appropriations Committee (Breitbach) and Human Resources Committee (Miller-Meeks) have new Chairs. In the House, nearly every standing committee has a new Chair, including Ways and Means (Hein), Human Resources (Lundgren), and Commerce (Carlson). Highlights of Governor Reynolds’ Condition of the State speech Governor Reynolds delivered her second Condition of the State address and outlined a series of policy objectives for the upcoming legislative Session. Those include:
State Revenues Remain Strong With six months of the fiscal year now complete, state revenue continues to grow at a strong and steady pace—and continues to outpace the revenue estimate on which the budget was based. Through December, general fund revenues grew year-to-date by 6.2% (estimate on which the budget was based is 4.9%). Personal and corporate income tax receipts are fueling the growth with year-to-date growth of 7.1% and 18% respectively. Governor Reynolds’ Budget in Brief
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