Iowa Politics and Caucus Insider

Iowa Senate rejects property tax bill; doubts arise that any reform will pass this session

A Democratic proposal to reduce Iowa business property taxes died Tuesday night in a political clash that left each party pointing fingers of blame and fueled arguments that the issue will now be fought on the fields of Iowa’s 126 legislative races that go before voters this year. No single lawmaker officially declared the issue [...]

New $15 million business incentive passes Iowa Legislature

Among the bills crossing the finish line tonight in what could be the final hours of the 2012 legislative session is a $15 million package of incentives for business expanding in Iowa. The House and Senate each passed the bill this evening to rewrite a one of the state’s economic development programs and expand it [...]

No Iowa school budget growth or cash to save Price Lab in latest legislative compromise

A last-ditch effort to save the University of Northern Iowa’s Malcolm Price Laboratory school and another to allow public school districts to grow their budgets were yanked in one of the year’s final compromise agreements among legislators. The school, a cornerstone of University of Northern Iowa’s teacher education program for more than 50 years, is [...]

Education reform passes Iowa House and Senate

Calling it a small first step in a years-long effort, the Iowa Legislature on Tuesday passed a slate of reforms to the state’s K-12 education system with implications for teachers, administrators and students at all grade levels. The bill’s passage is the culmination of months of effort, spearheaded by Gov. Branstad and diligently pushed through [...]

Iowa House Republicans name new leaders

As Iowa House Republicans worked to wrap up this year’s legislative session on Tuesday, they also looked ahead to next year’s, by electing two new assistant party leaders and a speaker pro tempore. The new speaker pro tempore will be DeWitt Republican Steve Olson, a five-term lawmaker and farmer. He was elected after the current [...]

New bill to ban synthetic drugs passes House, heads to governor

A bill aimed at cracking down on synthetic drugs passed the Iowa House on Tuesday, and is now headed to Gov. Terry Branstad to be signed into law. The bill, Senate File 2343, flew through the Legislature in the waning days of the 2012 session. Tuesday’s House approval on a 96-0 vote followed a 45-0 [...]

Senate rejects Adel’s attempt to fix botched special election; GOP blamed

The Iowa Senate today defeated a bill that would have fixed a botched special election that has left a proposed $4 million aquatic center in limbo for months. It also raises the question as to whether the city will need to halt collecting the 1-cent local option sales tax, which has been in place since [...]

UPDATE: Two Democrats vote no; Is Iowa’s property tax reform dead?

Two key Democrats have voted against the Senate’s business property tax reform bill, creating further uncertainty to what currently appears as legislative gridlock on one of this year’s key issues. Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, voted against the bill in a committee meeting this afternoon saying governments are already not meeting their basic obligations to [...]

Updated: Iowa House and Senate pass scaled-back education reform; bill now goes to governor

Updated at 3:30 p.m. The House and Senate have each passed the K-12 education reform bill. The Senate voted 31-15 in favor of the package, followed by the House on an 87-8 vote. The bill now goes to Gov. Terry Branstad to be signed into law. Original post: The House and Senate have agreed on [...]

Obama is ahead of Romney by 10 points in Iowa, new PPP poll

President Barack Obama has a 10-point lead over GOP rival Mitt Romney, according to a poll of Iowa voters by Public Policy Polling. Obama leads with 51 percent to Romney’s 41 percent, according to PPP, a Democratic polling company. Political strategists have said Iowa is a critical swing state that both Obama and Romney need [...]

Iowa House speaker: Legislative session could end today

Iowa’s 2012 legislative session could wrap up as early as today, House Speaker Kraig Paulsen said this morning. “Less than 10” bills remain on lawmakers’ plates, Paulsen said, and discussions on resolutions for all of them are underway. “Yes. I see no reason why we can’t do that,” Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said of final adjournment. But, [...]

Adel in a botched sales tax limbo; asking for legislative forgiveness

A botched special election has placed a proposed $4 million aquatic center in Adel in limbo as city officials today plead with legislators to help them make a fix. The issue centers on an August 2010 special election where Adel residents approved a 1-cent local option sales tax to pay for the new aquatic center. [...]

House passes narrow tax reform bill

A much narrower version of proposed reforms to a longtime Iowa tax break that some say has been overused and widely abused was approved by the House this afternoon, sending the bill to the governor. The break

Culver says super PAC is attacking Iowa’s renewable energy industry

Iowa Democrats today tapped clean energy backer Chet Culver to push back against a super PAC that’s holding events in Iowa this week. The conservative Americans for Prosperity has an agenda that’s contrary to Iowa’s bipartisan-backed renewable energy economy, said Culver, a former governor of Iowa. “The big oil interests that are behind this PAC [...]

Latham: GOP defense bill would block shutdown of Iowa Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing

A defense spending bill proposed Monday in the U.S. House would block the Air Force from eliminating F-16 aircraft at the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines until a cost-benefit analysis can be completed, according to U.S. Rep. Tom Latham. The Iowa Republican said the legislation would freeze the proposed retirement of Air Force aircraft, [...]

Iowa legislative stalemate broken; key budget agreements in the works

Updated at 4:11 p.m. Iowa lawmakers are today on track to approve compromise agreements on most of the key budget bills, a major step in wrapping up this year’s legislative session. Multiple budget committees are meeting today to approve so-called ‘conference committee reports’ that consist of agreements between Democrats and Republicans from both chambers. And [...]

Branstad declines to talk smack of proposed tax reforms

Gov. Terry Branstad this morning declined to jump into the legislative irritability that has surrounded property tax reform. “Listen, I’m not going to criticize anybody. I’m going to try to work with everybody,” Branstad said when asked this morning if House Speaker Kraig Paulsen’s weekend comments calling the Democratic plan “junk” was ill-advised. The overall [...]

Governor, lieutenant governor announce new regional hubs for science/technology education effort

The Branstad administration’s effort to increase interest and achievement in science, technology, engineering and math took a step forward this weekend, with the announcement of six “STEM hubs” spread out across the state. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds held a press conference Monday morning at the Science Center of Iowa to [...]

Poll shows near tie in presidential race, Obama hits ‘Go’ on another Iowa ad

The auto industry is back, Osama bin Laden has been brought to justice, troops are home from Iraq, and the private sector is adding jobs, President Barack Obama says in a new campaign advertisement designed for voters in Iowa and eight other swing states. “We’re not there yet. It’s still too hard for too many,” [...]

Ron Paul backers dominate Iowa GOP nominees for national convention

The majority of Iowans on the list to go to Tampa for the GOP national convention could be aligned with Ron Paul, a presidential candidate who represents a movement focused on limited government and constitutional principles. Of the 13 delegates and 13 alternates elected today for the national convention, just one has publicly endorsed Mitt [...]

House Republicans introduce their new version of property tax reform

House Republicans have introduced their version of commercial and industrial property tax reform, one day after Senate Democrats and the governor released their version. One of the key differences is the business rollback. House Study Bill 676 would specifically cut the percent of a business’s assessed value that is taxed from 100 percent to 90 [...]

May is ‘Women for Obama Month’

President Obama’s Iowa reelection campaign today announced May as ‘Women for Obama Month.’ Organizers will hold events across the state highlighting the President’s record on issues important to Iowa women and why Mitt Romney is the wrong choice for women, the group said today. “The choice America’s women face in this election is becoming clearer [...]

Gov. Terry Branstad signs open-records bill into law; New Public Information Board could be operational July 1

A new state board committed to ensuring transparency in government and enforcing Iowa’s open-records and open-meetings laws could be operating within months. Gov. Terry Branstad on Thursday signed into law Senate File 430, a long-sought bill establishing the Iowa Public Information Board. It passed the House and Senate last month. The nine-member board will lead [...]

House Republicans drafting their own version of tax reform; critics decry Iowa proposal as a corporate giveaway

An Iowa property tax reform compromise unveiled Thursday to give businesses a $350 million annual break almost immediately hit a speed bump when House Republicans announced they’ll push for their own new version that they’ll make public today. The plan was further decried by critics as a corporate giveaway. Meanwhile, local government advocates said their [...]

Lawmakers: Education spending settled, but much work remains on Iowa state budget

Updated at 12:40 p.m. At least one aspect of Iowa’s next state budget is nearing resolution, lawmakers said Thursday, but the House and Senate remain millions of dollars apart in other areas and divided on social-policy measures contained in the budget. A joint agreement between the Democratic Senate and Republican House on state education spending [...]