The following is the House Republican Caucus Staff’s end of session report:

2013 End of Session Report

*Note:  All information is current as of May 22, 2013

Below is a list of bills being debated today, with Caucus Staff’s analysis attached:

• House File 215 – Education Reform
• House File 489 – Insurance Division
  
• House File 620 – IEDA Tax Credit Cap
• House File 648 – Debt Reducion, Pension Obligations, and One-Time Appropriations
• Senate File 295 – Property Tax
• Senate File 446 – Health & Human Services Budget (Conference Committee Report)

To see the full House Debate Calendar, click here.

Below is a list of bills being debated today, with Caucus Staff’s analysis attached:

• House File 512 – Confinement Feeding
• House File 616 – Targeted Jobs Program
• House File 644 – E911
• House File 645 – Wastewater Treatment Sales Tax Exemption
• Senate File 247 – Bengal and Savannah Cats
• Senate File 338 – Background Checks for School Employees
  
• Senate File 339 – School Vehicle Inspections
• Senate File 432 – Department of Revenue Efficiency Bill
• Senate File 436 – Historic Tax Credits

To see the full House Debate Calendar, click here.

Below is a list of bills being debated today, with Caucus Staff’s analysis attached:

• House File 640 – Biofuel Blending
• Senate File 436 – Historic Tax Credits
• Senate File 442 – Judicial Branch Budget
• Senate File 452 – Standing Appropriations

To see the full House Debate Calendar, click here.

Below is a list of bills being debated today, with Caucus Staff’s analysis attached:

• House File 641 – Iowa Reinvestment Act
• Senate File 396 – Government Efficiency
  

To see the full House Debate Calendar, click here.

Below is a list of bills being debated today, with Caucus Staff’s analysis attached:

• House File 631 – Propane Research Council
• House File 633 – Captial Gains Exemption
• House File 638 – RIIF Budget
• Senate File 386 – DOT Omnibus
• Senate File 435 – Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget
• Senate File 447 – Justice Systems Budget

To see the full House Debate Calendar, click here.

On Wednesday, April 17, House Republicans passed their version of Property Tax Reform.  The House proposal does not shift the tax burden to various classes of property, but instead ensures that relief and reform is permanent, predictable, significant, and affects all classes of property.

Representative Chip Baltimore spoke during debate on the bill about the need to reform Iowa’s noncompetitive property tax system.

Generally, the bill:

• Contains a 20% rollback of taxable value on commercial and industrial property.
• Assessment growth limitation moves from 4% to 2% on ag and residential taxes immediately, while keeping the ag & residential tie in effect.
• After the 20% commercial rollback is fully implemented, all three classes of property (Ag, Residential, and Commercial) are tied together with a 2% assessment growth limitation.
• Includes an appropriation created to backfill loss to local governments.
• Raises the school foundation formula from 87.5% to 95% over four years which provides dollar for dollar property tax relief.

Below is a list of bills being debated today, with Caucus Staff’s analysis attached:

• House File 627 – Property Exemptions for Fairgrounds
• House File 630 – Hydroelectricity Conversion Property
• House File 634 – Department of Revenue Policy Bill
• Senate File 368 – Truth in Lending
• Senate File 430 – Economic Development Budget
• Senate File 445 – Mortgage Release Certificate Program

To see the full House Debate Calendar, click here.

Dear Iowa Taxpayer:

April 15. Tax Day. The day on the calendar that is burned into the minds of almost every working man, woman or child in this country. While the due date for our federal individual tax returns is certainly nothing to celebrate, it provides a perfect opportunity to update you on important comprehensive tax reform developments in Iowa.

Iowa is providing a glimmer of hope in the fight to give taxpayers a fairer, flatter and simpler tax code. While politicians in Washington, D.C. seem to spend all their time finding someone to blame, problem solvers in the Iowa House are taking steps to make our state government more accountable to taxpayers and more welcoming to families and job creators.

Recently, I was honored to have the opportunity to lead a bill through the Iowa House to confront big spenders in Des Moines. You know the type. The liberals who can never seem to get enough of your hard-earned paycheck in order to fund their bloated government programs.

Read the rest of the letter here…