• Speaker: Democrats budget proposal is incomplete: QC TIMES
• Proposal would legalize, regulate online poker: REGISTER
• Dems wage all-night but fail to block labor law: RADIO IOWA
• Caucus ’12: Obama’s Iowa rating ticks upward, as do the 2012 challengers: REGISTER
• ISU students power bus with recycled veggie oil: RADIO IOWA
• Caucus ’12: Huckabee makes stops in Iowa on Sunday, Monday: REGISTER
• GOP removes ‘egregious’ part of labor bill: RADIO IOWA
• Santorum touts stand against gay marriage: RADIO IOWA
• Regents president asks public for support in preventing more cuts: RADIO IOWA
• Museum should show every view of history: REGISTER
• Guard training canceled in face of budget battle: QC TIMES
• State employees often delete emails on controversial topics: GAZETTE
• Chronically ill push for medical marijuana: QC TIMES
• Average CR homeowner to pay eight percent more in property tax: GAZETTE
• Lawmakers may assist Lake Delhi restoration study: GAZETTE
• House D’s oppose Branstad preschool program: QC TIMES
• Arbitrator to rule on UNI faculty contract talks: WCF COURIER
• Branstad continues tour promoting jobs plan: GLOBEGAZETTE

Another week of doing the people’s business is under our belts.

This week, the Iowa House approved House File 194, a 20 percent income tax cut for ALL Iowans. It is the first reduction in income taxes since 1997 and passed with bipartisan support.

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As Iowa continues to grow, our state will face many challenges. Currently, the house judiciary committee is working to address one of the main challenges facing both rural and urban Iowans, the issue of eminent domain.

This week House Republicans and Democrats held a subcommittee meeting to hear from people on both sides of the issue. The goal of the meeting was to learn more about the specific situations currently facing Iowans and how best to draft eminent domain language that will protect property owners but not stop growth around the state.

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Representative Dawn Pettengill and Senator Tim Kapuican will be holding legislative coffees throughout House District 39 during the 2011 Legislative Session. This is an opportunity for constituents to get to know their lawmakers, learn about what is happening at the State Capitol, ask questions, and express your concerns.

Click on the link below to see the full schedule:
Press Release – 2011 Legislative Coffee Schedule

This week the House approved an allowable growth rate for Fiscal Year 2012. Allowable growth is the percentage at which the state’s per-pupil funding for education is allowed to increase. Due to underfunding from previous legislatures, a zero percent growth rate still increases state funding for education. Therefore, the House set the rate at zero percent, which put $216 million in new money into Iowa’s schools.

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There has been a lot of talk by the Democrats that there is a ‘$900 million budget surplus’. While this is technically true, it does not mean there is $900 million to spend on ongoing general fund operations in FY 2012. The following chart breaks down the $900 million and explains why it cannot be used to support ongoing expenditures. In fact, the use of one-time money in FY 2010 and FY 2011 is the main reason why the FY 2012 budget is such a mess. The state simply cannot continue to spend more than it takes in.

Click below for a visual explanation of the surplus:
Explaining the $900 Million Surplus

Ronald Reagan dominated the Republican primary elections in 1980. Although his strongest opponent, George Bush, won an upset victory in the Iowa caucuses, Reagan bounced back after a notable performance in a debate with other Republican candidates in Nashua, New Hampshire. The debate, initially sponsored by a newspaper, was first extended to only Reagan and Bush, but Reagan decided to pay for the debate and invite the rest of the candidates. When all the candidates took the stage that evening, the Bush team appeared surprised, and, as Reagan began to explain the situation, the moderator from the newspaper instructed that Reagan’s microphone be turned off. Reagan responded memorably with an angry line he remembered from a Spencer Tracy movie: “I am paying for this microphone!”
Source:biography.com

To commemorate the centennial of Ronald Reagan’s birth this Sunday, February 6th read more about his presidency by clicking on the link below:
Reagan

 All of us are concerned about our local governments, businesses and citizens.  Please accept this as a welcome invitation for you to attend one of the rules hearings we’ve planned near you.  Hopefully we will hear from many of our constituencies on administrative rules that are in the way of their success and stymying job creation, with the goal of coming back and removing those barriers.

Click on the link below to see specific dates and times:

  Read more »

• 2 Senate Democrats say loyalty to Gronstal trumps support for marriage amendment: REGISTER
• Another constitutional amendment on gun rights: RADIO IOWA
• Tracking Iowa sex offenders to cost millions: REGISTER
• House advances constitutional marriage bill: RADIO IOWA
• Repeal of “Healthy Kids Act” debated: RADIO IOWA
• Iowa Business Council releases report on growing economy: RADIO IOWA
• Egg safety violations go beyond Iowa sites: REGISTER
• Complaint filed against Iowa advocacy group: QC TIMES
• Senate Democrats propose $10 million jobs plan: QC TIMES
• Western Iowa districts voting on consolidation: QC TIMES
• Next, open up all public job interviews: REGISTER
• Lawmakers propose safety measure for cyclists: GAZETTE
• State rep Baudler gets vote of confidence, despite pot-buying experiment: GAZETTE
• Pension costs part of likely tax hike in CF: WCF COURIER
• Regents to consider new Iowa children’s hospital: GLOBEGAZETTE

Click below to see highlights of the Governor’s FY 2012 Budget

Talking points for Governor’s FY 2012 Budget