Thompson Times

This week House File 1011 with Amendment 2323 passed out of Judiciary Committee by a unanimous vote. The bill calls for a dedicated team comprised of investigators, prosecutors and victims’ care professionals working as one team to focus only on human trafficking in a comprehensive manner. I will be working with leaders from both parties for it to be considered on the House floor for passage.

This coming week (6th week of session) is first funnel week where bills brought forward by individual representatives must have passed a subcommittee and be brought to a full committee for a passing vote to be considered and placed on the schedule for a vote on the House floor.

I was fortunate to have an Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) representative and Secretary Mike Naig meet with me at the Capitol to address chicken waste and grazing on public lands. It was a very productive visit. This week the poultry industry entities were at the Capitol. Again, I was thankful to have a lengthy meeting with Vice President of Operations and Dr. Rowles of Versova. Versova has a large presence in the district.

Legislation is being brought forward to protect the integrity and sustainability of Iowa’s public assistance programs. HSB 696 will empower disabled Iowans to maintain their employment, and income without losing disability assistance. It also increases the quality of care for disabled Iowans while protecting the integrity of the system. The bill also updates state code to ensure Iowa remains in compliance with the federal legislation recently implemented. 

The Senate has come out with their proposed increase state per-pupil funding. The House has not finished their proposal. The Senate proposes an increase of nearly $100 million for the next school year and brings total spending on K-12 education by the state to $4.35 billion. Under this bill, the state would be spending $8,133 per student in Iowa, not including local or federal sources of money. Including all sources of funding – state, federal and local – Iowans are investing over $19,200 per student per year. The state’s funding formula for how much public-school districts can spend on operations each year uses the district’s certified enrollment multiplied by a per-pupil amount, which is $7,988 this year and would be bumped up to $8,133 next year. This expenditure represents nearly 50% of the state’s entire budget. To research your individual school’s performance and enrollment the Board of Education website is very comprehensive. https://www.iaschoolperformance.gov/ECP/Home/Index.

Another site to check is the Iowans for Tax Relief. It gives statistics on local spending on schools. https://itrreportcard.org/