Iowa Republicans are united in support of returning to the notion that it is Iowans that run government, not the other way around. Since 2006, the final year in which Republicans controlled at least one chamber of the Legislature, Iowa’s government has become bloated and unresponsive. The focus has become on what is best for the bureaucracy and maintaining the status quo, rather than what is best for Iowa’s families.

As Iowans have seen numerous times over the past several years, government is erecting barricades in front of them instead removing roadblocks to their success. Government has become too large too fast and it is time to make sure government is accountable to Iowa’s families.

Here is what Republicans will do if Iowa voters give us the opportunity:

Allow Iowans the Right to Vote on Marriage
While Iowans differ on the ruling handed down by the Supreme Court, all Iowans can agree that the people’s voice has been silenced. There is currently a disagreement between the branches of government. A vote of the people will solve this disagreement. This single act by an individual has been held as the final arbiter in this state and this country for over two centuries. Yet this fundamental democratic act is being thwarted by Democrats who control the Legislature.

Republicans propose that the citizens of Iowa be allowed the opportunity to determine the definition of marriage in Iowa. This is a judgment that should be left in the hands of the citizens, not unelected judges or an unresponsive legislature. Iowans deserve a voice.

A Return to the Fundamentals of Government
As Iowa’s government has expanded, the role of government has changed drastically from one that focuses limited resources on priorities to one that intrudes into trivial matters at the expense of safety.

Since 1998, the final year in which Republicans were in control of state government, the bureaucracy paid for by the taxpayer has increased by over 4,149 employees. This increase has failed to provide additional investments into the men and women that protect us as we travel across this state. In fact, since 1998 Iowa has gone from 355 state troopers to only 288 troopers protecting Iowans. This reduction of 67 troopers occurred while the rest of the bureaucracy grew and state spending ballooned to the highest point ever recorded.

Iowa’s government has become unbalanced and out of touch with what Iowa families need and how they want their tax dollars to be spent. Over the past three years alone the bureaucracy has grown to include:

• 7 new employees in the Governor’s office [1]
• 2 new gardeners for the Governor’s mansion [2]
• 20 new employees to collect more taxes [3]
• 4 new employees to create a data warehouse that is not used [4]
• Nearly 1,000 vacant but funded positions [5]

Republicans propose to return to the 1998 level of troopers within the next 5 years. While it took a decade for this reduction to occur, Republicans will be aggressive in identifying areas of savings that could be utilized to increase the number of troopers protecting Iowans.

The Iowa Good Neighbor Act
Synonymous with being an Iowan, is being a good neighbor. A neighbor offering to watch your child when the school bus comes in the morning or a grandparent spending time with their grandchildren are examples. These are gestures that can make a huge difference to a family looking to balance the demands of work and parenting. Republicans believe that government cannot be allowed to get in the way of Iowans who rely on family and neighbors.

This fall in Michigan a mother was singled out and nearly fined by Michigan’s version of the Department of Human Services for simply allowing the children waiting in her driveway for the school bus to instead wait inside her house if it was raining or cold. The state decided she was a daycare and attempted to fine her for being unregistered.6

This brought to mind Iowa Democrats’ attempts in 2007 to force grandparents to register as daycare providers if they were watching their own grandchildren on a regular basis. Iowans, whether they are neighbors or grandparents, should not be targeted by the Department of Human Services for simply offering a helping hand. This is why Republicans will offer the Iowa Good Neighbor Act to protect Iowans from the intrusive hand of big government. If Iowans want to lend a helping hand by watching a child, they should not be subjected to nanny-state meddling from government.

The Iowa Good Neighbor Act will put into Code specific protections for family members and neighbors who are simply being good Iowans. They will not be defined as a daycare or a daycare provider unless they are specifically offering that service.

The law will put strength behind families and neighbors, not behind the intrusiveness of government inspections. Paternalistic, nanny-state policies are on the rise at the national level and Republicans want to make sure they don’t spread to Iowa.

References:
[1] 2007 HF 874 Administration and Regulation Budget and 2008 SF 2400 Administration and Regulation Budget
[2] 2007 HF 874 Administration and Regulation Budget
[3] 2007 HF 874 Administration and Regulation Budget
[4] 2007 SF 588 Education Budget
[5] 2009 LSA Projection
[6] ABC News Website 11/19/2009 http://abcnews.go.com/US/michigan-mom-shun-daughters-schoolmates/story?id=8712305

Iowa Republicans: Real Solutions for Iowa’s Families is a joint project of the Republican Party of Iowa and the Republican Iowa House and Senate Caucuses. Through this project Iowa Republicans will promote a series of bold solutions to the problems facing our state in areas ranging from the budget to education, the environment and energy, family, health care and transparency.

Last week was eventful in the Legislature. It was the second “funnel” deadline and if a non-Appropriations or non-Ways and Means bill that did not make it through a committee in the other Chamber it is no longer eligible for debate as a standalone bill.

I expect this week to be rather eventful also. We seem to be moving towards adjournment for the year but several significant items remain. I continue to be disappointed by the Legislature’s lack of effort towards any bills that help put Iowans back to work. I also have some significant concerns about the budget.

Below is a list of some of the proposals that seem to have some life in them.

Budget
Budget bills are beginning to move. It is unclear what the final budget will look like. What I do know is this: the current budget year is out of balance by $70+ million and next year’s proposed budget does not match with projected revenues and therefore is currently out of balance. My expectation is that both of these will be brought into balance with some combination of federal stimulus dollars, other one time sources, and tax or fee increases. Regardless, it appears there will be significant gaps to fill when the “one time” dollars go away.

Republicans have offered over $215 million in budgetary cost savings. Click here http://iowahouserepublicans.com/republicans-offer-budget-reductions-to-the-fy-2010-budget for the complete list.

Federal Deductibility
Regarding the repeal of Iowans’ ability to deduct their federal income taxes from their state income a new version has been introduced. It is slightly improved, but continues to be a massive tax increase on Iowans.

Based on the information we received from the Department of Revenue the total tax increase on Iowans over the next five tax years equals $460 million.

Tax Year 2009: -$20 million
Tax Year 2010: -$35 million
Tax Year 2011: $154 million
Tax Year 2012: $157 million
Tax Year 2013: $149 million

Further, the plan continues to have “winners” and “losers” in every income tax bracket. Winners are those who will receive a tax cut – winners are those who will see a tax increase.

Individual Filers/ Winners vs. Losers and No Change

Tax Year | Winners | Losers/No Change | % of Winners vs. Losers/No Changes
2009 | 818,921 | 541,108 | 60%winners vs. 40%losers/no change
2010 | 825,496 | 541,506 | 60%winners vs. 40%losers/no change
2011 | 595,650 | 777,322 | 43%winners vs. 57%losers/no change
2012 | 598,747 | 778,738 | 43%winners vs. 57%losers/no change
2013 | 616,275 | 764,954 | 44%winners vs. 56%losers/no change

If we want to get serious about cutting taxes, Republicans are more than willing to work side by side with Democrats to offer REAL tax relief including the lowering of tax rates. However, we are not interested in removing one of Iowans’ largest tax deduction so that state government has more money to spend.

Marriage
In 1998, the Legislature overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation protecting marriage as between a man and a woman. On April 3rd the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that this provision is unconstitutional and therefore same-sex marriage is legal in Iowa.

There is now a divide between the legislative and judicial branches and Iowans should be permitted to weigh in and have the final say on this question. Two attempts were made last week to debate this question and both were rebuffed by the majority party leadership. I believe marriage is between one man and one woman and this is an appropriate question for the voters of Iowa to decide.

Repeal of Iowa’s Right-to Work law (aka “Fair Share”)
This proposal did not make it out of a committee and therefore should be dead for the year. I’ll continue to keep my eyes open so that it is not slipped in somewhere. However, it appears the votes are not there to pass it.

Prevailing Wage
This bill remains debatable in the House. However, the vote count appears to continue to be one vote short of passage. There is some talk of it being added into the Governor’s Bonding Proposal. Again, we’ll keep our eyes open and be ready to work against this proposal and the significant property tax increases that would result from its passage.

Doctor Shopping / Employee Choice of Doctor
This bill also continues to remain debatable in the House. But like prevailing wage appears to not have the number of votes necessary for final passage. It is my understanding that a working group continues to work on a compromise proposal. However, some of the differences appear irreconcilable at this point.

Collective Bargaining (Chapter 20) changes
There is no specific proposal before the Legislature similar to the Chapter 20 bill that was passed last year and then subsequently vetoed by the governor. Recall though that there wasn’t last year either until a Chapter 20 “cleanup bill” was brought to the House floor. That very same cleanup bill continues to be eligible for debate this year.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. For a full list of legislators see http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Legislators/LegislatorInfo.aspx. My contact information is kraig.paulsen@legis.state.ia.us or 515-281-3521.

Republican Leader, Kraig Paulsen, brought up a motion to pull House Joint Resolution 6 out of committee and to the floor for debate, but was ruled out of order.

Later in the day Representative Christopher Rants filed an amendment to the Health and Human Services Budget bill that would have stripped the language and replaced with the language of House Joint Resolution 6. It was ruled non-germane, which was expected, and then a vote to suspend the rules and debate the marriage issue failed on a party-line vote.

To hear Rep. Rants floor speech on the issue, use the player below: