Last Minute Legislation Passed As I write this newsletter, the end of the 2013 Legislative Session is here and as legislators go back to their regular jobs, getting the crops into the fields and continuing on with their family activities, I wanted to share some of the last minute legislation that was passed.

Education Savings Accounts: A Step in the Right Direction Last week I supported another step toward meaningful education reform by offering legislation that puts parents in the driver’s seat of their student’s education. Education savings accounts (ESAs) let parents choose where to send their child; a public school district, charter, nonpublic, or home school. They would receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts with restricted, but multiple, uses. Those funds could be utilized to cover public or private school tuition and fees, private instruction, tutoring, and training.

Common Sense Solution to Voter Fraud This past week I supported a common sense solution to voter fraud in Iowa.  The amendment I supported requires a person to provide proof of identity to a precinct election official on Election Day before being allowed to vote.  For example, it allows students to use their school ID as long as it bears an expiration date.  The legislation lays out alternatives to the […]

The week of April 29th is the last week all legislators and I get paid for this 110 day session. This could mean good news as the session is winding to an end. We are working diligently to assure we are adjourned in a timely matter. Every year I have been under the golden dome, I always end up frustrated on how we go into overtime. No successful business could survive the way the legislature conducts business by cramming in important issues and the budget in such a short period of time. There are many important, unresolved, issues yet to tackle such as property tax reform, education reform, and Medicaid expansion, not to mention the budget.