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Today is the 110th day of session, which is the deadline by which the Legislature aims to wrap things up for the year. It is possible for them to work past this deadline (which they often do), but from this point forward the focus will be on completing last minute business and moving as quickly as possible toward adjournment.
Speaking of last minute business, the Senate resumed work on budget bills this week, advancing several through the Chamber including agriculture and natural resources, administration and regulation, and transportation and infrastructure. We are still waiting on several other bills to be taken up, including judicial, justice, economic development, and - most important from our perspective - education (Senate File 560). The practice thus far has been to introduce an amendment to the bill on the floor which drops in the specific amounts for each budget line item. Assuming this practice will continue, we’ll watch for the amendments to be filed presumably sometime next week.
The Senate also took up a number of policy bills this week in what amounted to several days of significant floor work. (Interesting side note, the voting machine went out in the Senate so they had to conduct voice votes. This led to my favorite quote of the week from the Secretary of the Senate - “I can’t hear your thumb”, which meant please verbally say “yay” or “nay”.) Several bills that we are monitoring were voted on, including:
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HF256: relating to the minimum age of applicants for licenses from the board of educational examiners. Passed the Senate by a vote of 49-0 and goes to the Governor.
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HF602: relating to the inclusion of the telephone and text numbers for the Your Life Iowa program on public school student identification cards and including applicability provisions. Passed the Senate 48-0, goes back to the House.
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HF604: relating to education, including authorizing the ombudsman to investigate complaints received by individuals who hold a license, certificate, authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board of educational examiners, modifying the responsibilities of school districts and charter schools, and authorizing teachers employed by school districts or charter schools to remove disruptive students from the classroom. Passed the Senate by a vote of 49-0, goes back to the House.
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HF614: relating to licenses issued by the board of educational examiners to applicants from other states or countries. Passed the Senate by a vote of 49-0 and goes to the Governor.
The House gaveled in and out each day this week and did not take up any bills on the floor. They are scheduled to return on Monday afternoon, and have published a lengthy floor debate calendar. The Senate will also return on Monday.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Hope you all have a great weekend.
Eric St Clair
Legislative Liaison
Iowa Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
515-326-0274
eric.stclair@iowa.gov
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