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Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 11: Mar. 25-28, 2019

3/29/2019

by CBI Lobbyist Jeff Boeyink - Partner, LS2 Group

Overview / Major Events
This week the General Assembly held a Memorial Service to honor all the former members of the Iowa Legislature who passed from this life over the last two years. It is a sober reminder of the debts we owe to those who made these institutions great and the responsibility on all of us who work in this building to continue to build on their legacies.

Notable members who passed in the last two years include former House Speaker, Don Avenson, former State Senator and Lt. Governor, Joy Corning, former Senate President and US Congressman Leonard Boswell, and former State Senator and Senate Majority Leader, Cal Hultman. May they all rest in peace.

Second Funnel in One Week
April 5 with mark the arrival of the second funnel and a further winnowing of policy legislation that remains eligible for continued consideration. Bills that have not passed in one Chamber and cleared committee in the opposite Chamber are dead for the year.

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Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 10: Mar. 18-21, 2019

3/22/2019

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by CBI Lobbyist Jeff Boeyink - Partner, LS2 Group

Senate Democrats Retain Seat in Special Election
A special election to replace retired Democrat Senator Jeff Danielson was held on Tuesday of this week and was held by the Democrat minority. Eric Giddens easily bested former State Representative Walt Rodgers by a 57-42 margin to keep the seat in Democrat hands. Senator-elect Giddens will likely be sworn in this coming Monday and will immediately begin his service and assume all the committee positions previously held by Danielson. Republicans maintain a 32-18 majority.

Second Funnel in Two Weeks
The second legislative funnel arrives in two weeks. Policy bills that fail to pass one Chamber and a standing committee in another are no longer eligible after April 5.

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Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 9: Mar. 11-14, 2019

3/15/2019

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by CBI Lobbyist Jeff Boeyink - Partner, LS2 Group

Overview / Major Events
March 8th signaled the first legislative funnel date and policy bills that did not clear their committee of origin are no longer eligible for further work. What that means for the General Assembly is a two-week stretch dominated by floor debate in both Chambers as legislation approved at the committee level has stacked up over the last eight weeks.

The next funnel deadline is April 5th. For a policy bill to remain eligible for further work it must have been passed by one Chamber and cleared committee in the other. Regardless, the next three weeks will be a balance of floor work and committee work to keep policy issues moving forward.

State Budget Progress
According to insiders, the House and Senate remain about $50 million dollars apart on total appropriations for the coming fiscal year (FY20)—with the House being about $10 million above the Governor’s recommended budget and the Senate about $40 million under. While $50 million might sound like a large sum, with a total budget over $7.5 billion in expenditures, this is an amount that is clearly manageable and should not prove to be a major impediment to an on-time shut down in late April/early May.

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Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 7: Feb. 25-28, 2019

3/1/2019

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by CBI Lobbyist Jeff Boeyink - Partner, LS2 Group

Overview / Major Events
Next week marks the first legislative benchmark and post-March 7 the number of issues facing the remainder of the 2019 Session will be significantly reduced. Below are some higher profile issues that moved forward this week.

Sports Betting
The House State Government Committee late Thursday approved HSB 198, the initial House version of legislation to allow legal sports betting in Iowa. Like its Senate counterpart, HSB 198 would limit sports betting to the currently licensed Iowa casinos (and betting could take place on their premises or using a casino mobile app). Also like the Senate bill, the House version allows fantasy sports betting and does NOT allow the lottery or retail establishment to offer sports betting. The legislation rejects integrity and data fees from the professional sports leagues.

As the House and Senate have moved similar bills through the Committee process, the sports betting issues is now virtually funnel-proof and eligible for debate and resolution the remainder of the Session.

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Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 11: Mar. 25-28, 2019

Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 10: Mar. 18-21, 2019

Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 9: Mar. 11-14, 2019

Government Affairs Weekly Report - Week 7: Feb. 25-28, 2019

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