A Few Thoughts on the Session

As I sit here reflecting on my first session in the Iowa House, both accomplishments and failures come to mind. At the beginning of the session both parties stood up and made grand statements as to how we were going to rebuild Iowa from the natural disasters, balance the budget and help put 80,000 Iowans back to work.

We got off to a great start passing legislation that was designed to help Iowans quickly get back into their homes and begin the rebuilding process. Before the session started, I toured many of the areas that were damaged from the floods and tornadoes of 2008. It was very evident that the people in these areas needed help and I am honored to have served on the Rebuild Iowa Committee and be part of this recovery process.

The tone of the House chamber changed rather quickly after the passage of the recovery bills. Agendas became evident and staunch differences began to emerge. The first major battle of the year was on prevailing wage. The State was on the verge of passing law that would dictate the pay scale for public projects. This would increase the cost of the State doing business at a time when we already have record high spending and declining revenue. It was clear that we would see property taxes increase to cover this expense. After debating on a Friday it was time to vote and the Majority could only muster 50 votes. They decided to keep the voting machine open until Monday or until one of there members changed their mind. After taking shifts sitting in the chambers, Monday rolled around, the voting machine was closed and the bill was defeated.

The target was then set on revamping Iowa’s tax law and taking away federal deductibility, which was popularly referred to as a tax on a tax. This battle took center stage when the Democrat leadership decided to have a public hearing because of the outcry from our constituents. Over 600 individuals filled the gallery to witness the testimony of concerned citizens. It was clear people did not to lose their federal deductibility and their passion was evident as they cheered and clapped the ones that spoke out against this bill and hissed and booed at the few who spoke in favor of it. After about 45 minutes of this, the Speaker of the House, Pat Murphy walked into the Chamber and asked the troopers to remove the citizens from the House they paid for with their tax dollars. The majority party continued to push for the bill, but once again they could not muster more then 50 votes and the bill was never debated.

Another issue that got Iowans’ attention was the Supreme Court ruling in favor of same sex marriage, which set the stage for a battle that continues. The people have overwhelming made it clear that they want to vote on a constitutional amendment to define marriage. While people and parties fall on both sides of this issue, I find it unbelievable that the leadership of the Majority party would not allow this to be debated on the House floor.

Regarding the Governor’s bonding program, Iowans spoke loud and clear that they were opposed to this. Seventy-one percent of Iowans do not agree with borrowing from our children’s future to pay for our mismanagement today, but it was pushed forward and passed. We will be paying $1.6 billion over 20 years for $765 million of spending now.

Looking over this pass session, I was encouraged by the amount of public involvement with visits, emails and phone calls. I believe that you can make a difference if you just get involved. A little over a year ago I was one of the people calling on my elected officials and voicing my concerns. Now, I did not defeat federal deductibility and prevailing wage single handily, but if I did not run the vote outcome in our legislature could have been different. Please get hooked up and help make a difference.

Sincerely,
Representative Kent Sorenson
(515) 250-7555