Long Live King George!!!

While sitting at my desk in the Iowa Senate, I find myself wishing, for lack of something better to do, for some wet paint to be on one of the walls here in the chamber so that I could watch it dry.

Like I’ve said before, and I’ll say again (and again), they removed the 40-year-old procedural rules that would’ve allowed me to force votes on good legislation!

So not much happens here in the Senate. The liberal majority party has ignored their constituents’ wishes all session long and successfully gutted every bill that conservatives like me in the Senate have brought forward.

And they have a nasty habit of mutilating bills that passed through the House of Representatives as well.

It boils down to a good ole’ fashion arrogant rejection of the voter’s demands in November!

It’s such a waste that I thought I’d run some rough numbers for you. Senators and their clerks ALONE have a daily total cost of roughly $21,000.  That’s for 50 senators and their clerks.

But it gets worse. The Senate Majority party’s refusal to yield to the demands of the people they’re supposed to serve in effect wastes the time of the House of Representatives as well.

So take that Senate number, multiply it by 2 for the 100 House Representatives, add it to the Senate total, and it seems that Iowa taxpayers are footing a bill of roughly $63,000 a day for legislators and their clerks ALONE.

This doesn’t include:

-        The Legislative Services Agency employees that service the legislators and help draft legislation, bills and amendments.

-        The caucus staff for both parties in both chambers.

-        The time the pages in both chambers put in.

-        The Secretary of the Senate and the administrative staff, AND their House counterpart.

-        The cafeteria staff.

-        The laptops that all 150 legislators have.

-        The paper and printers that we use each day.

-        The building maintenance staff…

…and the list goes on!

You know, I don’t have the exact numbers, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we spend over $200,000 a day at the capitol. Multiply that by a 110 day legislative session and Iowans are on the losing end of a whopping total of $22 million bucks.

And for what? Do we elect our representatives so that an elite few can ignore, reject and refuse the will of the people?

Americans have been here before. I think a major part of our American heritage is defined by our willingness to throw out the whole “divine right of kings” mentality. We fought a successful war against the world’s greatest military so that we could implement a constitutional republic, where those in office derived their governance from the consent of the governed.

But it looks to me like King George III is alive and well in ultra-left-wing liberals like Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. We exist to serve the elite like Gronstal, and the big spending, big taxing policies that they like to promulgate have failed in history and will always fail in the future.

Our hemorrhaging middle class is clear and present evidence of this fact.

Our unemployed are the reality of this fact.

Our faltering economy and stagnant small business climate are evidence that this is only going to get worse.

Remember in the next elections that the Senate majority only continued their assault on the middle class that they began years ago. Because like our Founding Fathers realized, we need to remove those that threaten our livelihood from office.

And we’re lucky enough not to have to take up arms to do so, like our Founding Fathers. We only need to take up a pencil at the next elections.

As always please do hesitate to contact me with you issues and concerns.

Senator Kent Sorenson

Peanuts, Popcorn and Candy Apples!!

For the last two weeks we’ve been looking at and voting on legislation that is, for the most part, noncontroversial in nature. Bill after bill we’ve been voting on has been passing with bi-partisan support and I’m fine with that because some of this stuff needs correcting.

For example, HF 290 (formerly SF 78) allows a motorcycle with added stabilizing wheels in the back to remain classified as a motorcycle instead of being reclassified as an automobile. This lets motorcycle owners avoid the added fees that such modifications create. It passed with ease and was sent on to the Governor’s desk because it’s just plain ole’ common sense.

Senate File 471, known as the Red Tape Commission bill, requires each state agency to review all of its administrative rules on a five-year cycle, with the goal being the removal of outdated and unnecessary rules. It too passed out of the Senate and went on to the House because it’s downright unfashionable in our current economic climate to be touting more rules and restriction that are disconnected from reality.

And one other bill that just made sense to everybody was the Stolen Valor Act that made it illegal for a person to impersonate a decorated military veteran with the intent to deceive another person for the purpose of monetary gain.  It passed 48-0, with two senators excused for health reasons.

You seeing what I’m seeing? One would think so. For brief moments it seems like common sense became contagious.

But then we get another healthy slap in the face in the form of the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit bill.

This bill provides an Iowa refundable tax credit against income tax liability equal to 25 percent of the new federal Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for Iowa domicile employers with ten or fewer full time employees. The Iowa credit is refundable, and the federal tax credit gives a tax credit to certain small employers that provide health care coverage to their employees.

Sounds good, and it passed with a vote of 48-0, but the untold story is what goes unnoticed!

You see, an amendment to the bill that would allow the Iowa credit (for businesses that employ up to ten full time employees) to apply to any small businesses that qualifies for the federal credit (which allows for businesses that employ up to 25 full time employees) was voted down along party lines!

So if I get this right, the federal government thinks we should give this tax credit to businesses that employ up to 25 full time employees, but the big spending, big taxing majority party in the Senate believes the state of Iowa should restrict that credit to only those who employ up to ten people?

Don’t get me wrong here, small businesses who employ up to ten people deserve every single tax break they can get!

But if I were a small business that employed ten people and was thinking about expanding my production abilities and hiring more employees, where is my incentive now? The moment I’d go from ten employees to 11, I’d lose those tax credits!

And the flip side is also true. Because who knows, if someone has 11 employees and only has to fire one to qualify for those tax credits, that just might be enough to let an employee go.

So while this indeed does give a tax break to some small businesses, it seems to be a dis-incentive to others (a net-neutralizing effect), and I know of several small businesses right now that could certainly use that tax break that the federal government already agrees upon.

So the dog and pony show (read: CIRCUS) rolls on.

But don’t be fooled, because it’s not entertaining. This stuff affects people’s lives. It affects their paychecks, and it affects their standard of living.

What the big-tax-and-spenders in control of the Senate are really doing is continuing the debacle of the last several years in the hopes that they can use votes like the small business health care tax vote to make themselves look small business friendly while at the same time try to blame conservatives like me for not doing anything to ease the strain on the economy they created.

It isn’t true, and we won’t forget.

Feel free to give me your input by writing to kent.sorenson@legis.state.ia.us, and I appreciate hearing from you

Sincerly,

Senator Kent Sorenson

Taxpayers Last……

The “Taxpayers First Act” (HF45) that passed the House of Representatives would’ve saved taxpayers $500 million dollars over the next three years. Unfortunately, when the liberal Democrat Senate leadership got done with it, it was gutted almost beyond recognition.

Instead of saving you and me the $500 million we so greatly need, it now only saves a whopping $10 million over the next three years.

And instead of setting aside $327 million for tax relief, the liberal Democrat Senate version sets aside a whopping $0.

All of that waiting, all of that Gron-stalling and delay, was for nothing. The clear message that taxpayers sent back on November 2 was that Iowans wanted real representation, lower taxes, lower spending and less government.

So you and I, the Iowa economy and Iowa workers continue to foot the bill.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving money. But the $10 million dollar token the liberal leader of the senate forced down our throats is more of an insult than substantive savings.

Senate conservatives offered amendment after amendment to the liberal chokehold on taxpayers but to no avail.  It was a party line vote every time at 26-24.

But have no fear! The liberal Democrats did let us debate a bill about raccoon hunting!

(For those of you needing a refresher, the reason I say that they “let us debate” is because liberal Majority Leader, Mike Gronstal from Council Bluffs controls the Senate Calendar, the passage of legislation through committees, and decides if we should be allowed to vote on any particular legislation and ultimately determines the outcome of any potential legislation IF he decides to let it come to the floor.)

So for those of you who cast your vote on November 2, 2010, because you were mad that you couldn’t take your minor child raccoon hunting with you without them having a license, I’d like you to know that I voted FOR repealing that requirement.

You can now take your minor child raccoon hunting with you and they don’t need a license.  But they are not allowed to carry a firearm if they’re not licensed.

I’m glad we got that passed. Truly. We should’ve let parents take their children hunting without a license anyway, but I still believe that we have more important legislation to work on.

Excessive taxes come to mind.

Combining our state corporate tax rate of 12% with the federal rate of 35% and the Tax Foundation says that the Hawkeye State may have the highest levy in the developed world.

And according to the Wall Street Journal, workers “bear the cost of excessive corporate taxes. A 2009 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City examined three decades of data on business taxes and worker paychecks. The study found that “corporate taxes reduce wages and that the magnitude of the negative relationship between the taxes and the wages has increased over the past 30 years.”

Businesses in high tax states invest less, the study found, and this leads to lower productivity (think fewer jobs) and eventually lower average pay for workers.

This isn’t just hypothetical theory. This is state government stifling businesses that could and would be creating jobs if the tax and business climate were less oppressive.

It’s plain and simple math folks. It’s not sustainable unless we change the path we’re on.

This is why I expect we’ll start to see half-truths and attempts to claim public credit for easing restrictions and burdens on Iowa taxpayers to start coming out of the liberal leadership in the next few weeks. They know, as well as you and I do, that they have to start gaining the appearance of being business and taxpayer friendly if they want to hold on to the majority in the Iowa Senate in 2012.

But you and I know such efforts will be seen for what it really is: political grandstanding. If they cared about taxpayers, and if they cared about Iowa workers and the middle class, they wouldn’t have been so deceptive with their legislation and rhetoric for the last several years.

And if they had truly realized the “error of their ways,” they would’ve immediately reached across the aisle and united with conservatives to ease restrictions, ease the burdens and get us back on track sooner rather than later.

Taxpayers remain last on their agenda.

Sincerely,

Senator Kent Sorenson

Business as Usual

Business as Usual….

Only days into the legislative session, the Iowa House of Representatives passed HF 45, also known as the Taxpayers First Act.

The Taxpayers First Act would provide savings of over $500 million to the state over three fiscal years and would:

•        Create a new Tax Relief Fund (TRF) to capture the general fund surplus. It directed the Ways and Means Committees of the Legislature to establish the tax relief policy.

•        Require the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches to establish an employee premium for health insurance coverage, sets the premium at a minimum of $100 per month. It asks the State employee organizations to renegotiate current bargained contracts to achieve cost savings for health insurance coverage. (Estimated maximum savings – $66.4 million!)

•        Reduce expenditures for office supplies, outside services, equipment purchases, information technology, printing and binding and marketing by 50 percent of the unencumbered appropriation. (Estimated savings – $30.4 million!)

•        Deny any state benefits to illegal aliens unless already covered by federal law. (Estimated savings – unknown!)

•        Prohibit State agencies from employing taxpayer-funded lobbyist. (Estimated savings – $2.4 million!)

•        Prohibit the State from purchasing new general use vehicles through the end of FY 2011.

•        Require the Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission to develop a Request for Proposal to sell or lease the Iowa Communications Network. (Fiscal impact – unknown)

•        Reduce funding for information technology purchases by 50 percent and requires the executive branch to combine information technology systems. (Estimated savings – $1 million)

•        Prohibit the Department of Natural Resources from purchasing more land. Does allow land to be donated to the DNR. (Estimated savings – $3.1 million)

A lot of these were good ole’ common sense measures.

And considering that the people of Iowa spoke pretty clearly back in November about what they wanted their new legislature to do, I thought that the powers that be in the Iowa Senate would at least give the appearance of listening to the people they serve!

How wrong I was.

Thursday afternoon saw us finally debating a bill (Taxpayers First Act) that would’ve done exactly what’s needed, which is putting money back into the pockets of small business owners, back into the coffers of taxpayers and getting Iowa back onto the road of recovery.

But it was just business as usual.

Senate liberals, at the bidding of their liberal Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, proceeded to gut the bill of many of the substantive measures intended to turn our state around, wielding their powerful majority around like a club to beat down Iowa taxpayers.

And, because they saw fit to change the rules right out of the gate when the session first started, I was powerless to do anything about it but vote against every single one of their amendments.

But that doesn’t mean that they’re held unaccountable.

Because we made sure that every single vote, for every single amendment which they attacked the taxpayer, was a record roll call vote.

That means that they weren’t allowed just to voice their vote in hopes of denying down the road during the election season, rather, they had to put down essentially in writing, for all the world to see, that they didn’t care what the voter wanted, that they think they know better than Iowans who actually RUN businesses and who actually WORK to pay their taxes, and that they think they know better.

What a travesty in justice.

Gronstal is still stalling. (Gronstalling)

Stay tuned for further updates, and again, it’s an honor to be your Senator.

Sincerely,

Senator Kent Sorenson

The Economics of Stalling

The Economics of Stalling

Year after year, Iowa ranks as one of the least friendly states in the nation to conduct business in, according to the Small Business Survival Index.  While Iowa’s business climate seemed to improve in 2010, Iowa still ranked at the very low end of the list.  Only nine other states and the District of Columbia were found to have a worse business climate.

And while Iowa scores some points for having a low number of health insurance mandates (6th lowest), low crime rate (10th), low electric utility costs (11th), and low gas tax rate (18th), Iowa doesn’t fare so well when it comes to corporate income tax rates, corporate capital gains tax rates, and adjusted unemployment tax rates.

Iowa ranks 49th for corporate income tax rates and 49th for corporate capital gains tax rates.  Only the District of Columbia and the state of Pennsylvania have higher rates!

In figuring adjusted unemployment taxes, the index takes the maximum state tax rate and applies it to the state wage base and then takes that as a share of state average pay.  In this category, Iowa ranks 48th, beating out only Minnesota, Utah, and North Dakota.

The reason I bring up all this dismal data is to tell you again what I told you in my campaign – I won’t vote for new taxes, and I know that improving Iowa’s business climate is crucial to attracting and growing businesses in this state and putting Iowans back to work.

But one man in the senate won’t let us do that.

You see, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal has the power of controlling the committees that new legislation must go through. As such, he can either have a committee kill that legislation or bring it to the floor for a vote. There are a lot of good bills that have been introduced this session that are aimed directly at getting Iowa back on track.

But Gronstal stalls.

And he can do it, too. You know why? Because he decided right after the start of the legislative session that he’d change the 40 year old senate rules to remove the language that allows a senator like me to force legislation to the floor.

I bet you can imagine how I feel about that.

I call it tyranny, plain and simple.

Improving Iowa’s business climate is crucial to attracting and growing businesses in the state and putting Iowans back to work.  I remain dedicated to helping reform our tax structure and identifying and removing unnecessary government rules and regulations to improve Iowa’s business climate and begin putting Iowans back to work.

If Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal doesn’t like what you have to say, he can stop it dead in its tracks.

So stay tuned for further updates. Our jobs and our economy are at the top of the list in everyone’s minds right now, and I pledge to remain steadfast in my stance on these issues.

As I’ve said before, I’m honored to be your Senator.

Sincerely,

Senator Kent Sorenson

Sorenson Receives Governor Huckabee And Huck PAC Endorsement!

GOVERNOR MIKE HUCKABEE AND HUCK PAC ENDORSE KENT SORENSON FOR IOWA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 37

Huckabee Releases Statement About Sorenson’s Bid In Iowa

August 17, 2010

Little Rock, AR – Governor Mike Huckabee issued the following statement about Kent Sorenson:

“Huck PAC and I are proud to endorse Kent Sorenson for Iowa State Senate District 37. Kent was first elected to the Iowa House in 2008, winning a race that many thought was unwinnable. Kent isn’t afraid of fight, especially when you have something worth fighting for.

Kent shares our values, is unequivocally pro-life and supports the traditional definition of marriage – as being between one man and one woman. Kent is an avid outdoorsman and will continue working hard to keep and preserve your 2nd Amendment rights.

Please join me in supporting Kent Sorenson for Iowa State Senate District 37.”

Sorenson’s Straight Talk

Government Oversight Continues on IASB
I continue to serve on the Government Oversight Committee during the interim. We met recently to review the release of a long overdue financial audit of the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB).  The audit provided some details on already known financial dealings.  We first questioned auditors before moving on to question IASB interim director Veronica Stalker and legal representative Nolden Gentry. Our questions were focused on the inexcusable lack of internal controls within the association and what work is being done to correct these mistakes. The audit confirmed already known details about improper transfers of money between IASB entities and salary increases for three top executives.  It also reported that former executive director Maxine Kilcrease spent over $18,000 to refurnish her and another office, and it detailed how much money was still to be paid back for overcompensation or improper personal spending by current and former employees. Questions were asked whether or not the IASB’s services could be provided by a private company or through the AEAs.  An audit for the 2010 fiscal year is currently being conducted and is expected sometime in September.  The oversight committee plans to have IASB back at the November meeting to discuss the findings of that audit and to formulate plans for any legislative action needed for the next General Assembly.
Should Iowa Put “Right to Work” in the Constitution?

In 1947, the Taft-Hartley amendments to the 1935 National Labor Relations Act affirmed the states’ right to pass Right-to-Work laws. Right-to-Work laws guarantee that no person can be compelled, as a condition of employment, to join or not to join, nor to pay dues to a labor union. The Right to Work principle affirms the right of every American to work for a living without being forced to belong to a union.  Compulsory unionism in any form–”union,” “closed,” or “agency” shop–is a contradiction of the Right to Work principle and the fundamental human right the principle represents.  As of January 1, 2006, 22 states have adopted Right-to-Work laws.  Of those 22 states, ten have taken the extra step of putting Right-to-Work into its constitution (Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota).  Should Iowa join those ten states and do the same?  Prior to 2007, the answer was probably that it was not necessary.  However, since 2007 the Democrat majorities have sponsored several bills to completely overturn Iowa’s 60-year-old Right-to-Work status by requiring non-union members of public employers and private employers to pay a mandatory fee to the union. I would like to hear from you on this issue.
Sales Tax Holiday August 6 & 7
This year marks the 11th annual Iowa Sales Tax Holiday, and it begins when stores open on Friday August 6 and ends when stores close on Saturday August 7.  During this time period, consumers will pay no sales tax, including local option sales tax, on select clothing and footwear marked at $100 or less.  Consumers can access a complete list of items that are taxable and items that are exempt at: http://www.iowa.gov/tax/educate/STHList.pdf <http://www.iowa.gov/tax/educate/STHList.pdf>  .
The annual sales tax holiday provides consumers with a little break on the price of essential clothing items.  Many families look forward to these two days in August because the savings can add up.  Eighteen states have designated sales tax holidays.  In fact, many states have multiple days when no sales tax is collected.  For example, the State of Illinois sales tax holiday is 10 days long, beginning August 6th and ending August 15th.  Many states have higher price thresholds on qualifying items and have expanded their sales tax exemptions beyond just select clothing items and footwear.  Several states include school supplies, books, computers, sports equipment, and energy star products in their list of tax free items. I would support expanding the items on Iowa’s list that would be tax-free on this weekend so families could save even more when back-to-school shopping.

Let’s Put Kids Ahead Of Special Interest

The end of the school year is upon us. Schools are busy finalizing their budgets and preparing for next year. Since Governor Culver and legislative Democrats underfunded K-12 education by $162 million dollars while still spending the second most amount of money in Iowa history, schools are making deep cuts and property taxes are going up. Culver’s property tax increases are collectively estimated to be near $182 million but could be as high as a half billion dollars.

Through all of this, many teachers and staff members have been let go to ensure districts are operating with a balanced budget. When these layoffs are made, districts are forced to make decisions based on seniority – not necessarily on whether they are retaining the best teachers for the students in their districts.

This must change.

A recent Register Editorial in the Des Moines Sunday Register <http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100509/OPINION03/5090317/1110/Keep-best-teachers-not-necessarily-veterans> does a good job highlighting the need to change the way we evaluate and promote teachers. “Seniority tends to be a big factor in who stays – it’s written into school district contracts – which can have devastating consequences for students,” wrote the Des Moines Sunday Register. “Putting the best teacher possible in every classroom should be everyone’s top priority. It’s mind-boggling that it isn’t,” they concluded.

I could not agree more.

Year after year, Republicans have authored broad and sweeping education reforms in the Iowa Legislature to reform education. If enacted, our “pay for performance” law would be one of the boldest reform plans anywhere in the nation. “Pay for performance” legislation was passed by the Legislature in 2006 but Governor Vilsack caved in to the demands of the deep pocketed union bosses who prefer the stagnant status quo. This, like many similar proposals to enhance student achievement and renew the legacy of Iowa’s proud heritage in education, has been defeated year after year by the party currently in power.

Case in point, when Iowa applied for President Obama’s Race to the Top grant program, our state’s application was denied. Governor Culver and legislative Democrats, like Vilsack, caved to the demands of powerful special interests and well-funded union bosses by voting down Republican efforts to revitalize our education system and make Iowa more competitive.

Today, 20 to 25 percent of our students are one year or more below grade level. This drastic change in direction is one of the leading reasons why our eighth graders in 1993 were first in mathematics but have now fallen to 28th. Though we have spent billions of dollars, student achievement has stagnated and in many instances declined. The 2008 Iowa Condition of Education Report shows student proficiency has decreased over the past year in fourth grade reading, fourth grade math, eleventh grade reading and eleventh grade math.

We need more accountability. Everyone must be accountable for the success of our students. Though these children may be students today, we will be relying on them to be the leaders of tomorrow. Students, parents, schools, colleges of education and policymakers all need to be held accountable.

We need to pay our good teachers well and weed out those who are not meeting the necessary standards. There are excellent teachers with all levels of experience and they must be rewarded and those who do not excel need to move on. We must be clear, basing personnel decisions solely on seniority must end.

As it stands now, the rest of the world is leaving America behind and the rest of America is starting to leave Iowa behind. Simply throwing more money at the problem without real reform has not and will continue not to work.

We need dramatic reform and we need it now. If we fail to act, we are leaving our children, grandchildren and future generations of Iowans without the necessary skills they need to be productive members of society.

It’s time to put our students first by preparing them to be productive citizens who possess the necessary skills and knowledge to compete with any one else in the world. Our kids deserve the very best.