Following up on the House Republicans announcing their plan for 2009, here is a background, and relevant votes, on their plan for financial security and accountability, which has three parts:

1. Security for families – Protect Iowans identity from theft, keep our schools in the hands of locally elected officials, and raise education standards
2. Security for taxpayers – Ban pork barrel spending, freeze property taxes, and rein in runaway government spending
3. Security for businesses – Strengthen Iowa’s Right to Work law, repeal the tax increase on small businesses, focus on creation of jobs built around renewable energy

Security For Families

1. Protecting your Identity and Privacy
   • House Republicans know that a key part of financial security is protection from identity theft. That is why we will require the state of Iowa to notify Iowans when it is learned someone else is using their social security number and penalize government officials who sell private information for personal gain.

     Relevant Vote: Amendment H-8670 to House File 2700 would have required the state to notify Iowans when it is learned that someone else is using their Social Security number. Democrats voted it down – (4-25-08) – House Journal Page 1877

2. Keeping Local Control of Schools
   • House Republicans support local school boards and officials. We will end plans to take away their authority over taxes, curriculum, getting rid of bad teachers to unelected out of state arbitrators.

     Relevant Vote: House File 2645 would have expanded public employee collective bargaining, tipping the scale in favor of unions, and opened the door for major changes to teacher contracts and teacher discipline – (3/19/2008) – House Journal Page 773

3. Education standards
   • House Republicans will approve rigorous state content standards by 2014 and set in motion recommendations for rigorous performance standards. Republicans offered this proposal in 2008 and it was adopted and then repealed by Democrats on April 25.

     Relevant Vote: Amendment H-8432 to Senate File 2216 requires rigorous state content standards by 2014 sets in motion recommendations for rigorous performance standards. It passed with 10 Democrats joining 46 Republicans voting for it – (4/14/2008) – House Journal Page 1229

Security For Taxpayers

1. Ban Pork Barrel spending
   • House Republicans will end the stealthy and unaccountable process of earmarked pork barrel projects. We will cancel the pork projects approved by the Democrats and use those dollars on flood relief efforts.

     Relevant Votes:

     • $100,000 for Multi-use Community Center in Des Moines – Senate File 2432 (4-25-08) – House Journal Page 2073
     • $750,000 to help finance Principle River Walk in Des Moines – Senate File 2432 (4-25-08) – House Journal Page 2073
     • Amendment H-1470 would have eliminated funding for two full-time gardeners at Terrace Hill. Democrats voted it down – Amendment H-8396 (4/7/08) – House Journal Page 1073
     • $120,000 for decorative planters in Des Moines – House File 911 (4-28-07) – House Journal Page 2050
     • Amendment H-8658 would have prohibited state tax dollars from being used to fund a collective bargaining agreement for health club dues or any other private business dues, which are currently being paid for Davenport Community School District’s teachers YMCA memberships – (4-24-07) – House Journal Page 1838
2. Property tax freeze
   • House Republicans will approve a K-12 allowable growth that does not raise property taxes. It is the same position Republicans took when we offered and supported H-8007.

     Relevant Vote: Amendment H-8007 would have required the state to annually pay any property tax increase resulting from Allowable Growth starting in 2010, essentially $47 million in property tax relief. It was voted down by Democrats – (2/06/2008) – House Journal Page 209

3. Runaway spending
   • During the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions, Democrats increased state spending by $928 million or 17 percent.

     State Auditor David Vaudt described the FY 09 budget as one that “represents a significant step backward in terms of transparency and fiscal responsibility.” He added, “If we can’t make ends meet with nearly 5% average annual revenue growth, how will we make it if revenues flatten out or decline, as they do in a recession?”

Security For Business

1. Strengthening Right to Work
   • House Republicans will end the relentless campaign to repeal Iowa’s Right to Work Law. We will pass a resolution constitutionally protecting Iowa’s Right to Work Law, and place it in Chapter 20 of the Iowa code to protect all workers.

     Relevant Votes:

     • Senate File 413 removes right-to-work protections against forced payment of union dues and fees for public employees, eliminating a public employees right to choose whether or not they want to pay union dues – (3/13/2007) Labor Committee Minutes. Voting Aye were R. Olson, T. Taylor, Abdul-Samad, Hunter, Jochum, Mascher, Murphy, Palmer, Staed, and Winckler. Voting Nay were Horbach, Chambers, Grassley, Rants, Tymeson, Van Engelenhoven, and Watts.
     • Amendment H-8184 would have specifically excluded garnishing the wages of public employees who do not belong to a union in the scope of collective bargaining negotiations. Democrats voted it down – (3/19/2008) – House Journal Page 744
2. Small business tax increase
   • House Republicans will repeal the painful small business tax increase approved by Democrats. Republicans unanimously opposed the tax increase 2008.

     Relevant Vote: Amendment H-8039 would have prevented a $50 million tax increase over the course of three years on Iowa businesses. Democrats voted it down – (2/06/2008) – Amendment H-8039 to Senate File 2123 (2/28/2008) – House Journal Page 439

3. Renewable Jobs
   • Republicans will work to ensure that we have a business climate that promotes not just new forms of electric energy production, but a transmission system that allows our green power to be sold out of state thereby bringing profit to Iowans and power to America.

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