Highlights in this edition:

• Fiscal Year 2027 Begins with Stronger General Fund Numbers
  • With the 2024 tax cut fully implemented over a year ago, personal income tax numbers have stabilized and are expected to grow according to the March REC forecast
• K-12 Education Spending Up 34 Percent Since 2020
  • FY 2027 spending level will be almost $4.4 billion
• Republican Led Effort on Water Quality Funding Continues Implementation in August
  • The Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program was expanded to 22 additional counties, many within the Greater Des Moines watershed
• Iowa’s Property Tax Reform Ranked First in the Nation
  • SF 2472 was the largest single property tax relief measure in the nation over the past decade, measured both per household and as savings relative to personal income

Highlights in this edition:

• Florida’s DOGE Efforts Identify Nearly $1 Billion in Wasteful Local Spending
  • Several counties were spending tax dollars on divisive DEI programming of all varieties, including “transgender humility” training
• SBA Approves Low-Interest Disaster Loans for July Flooding
  • Homeowners, renters, businesses, and most nonprofit organizations in Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Polk, Story, and Warren Counties whose property was damaged or destroyed by this disaster can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the SBA
• Truth Bombs About School Choice
  • Each student who qualifies to receive an education savings account (ESA) receives $8,148 in their account while public school students receive up to $22,000 per student with all the funding streams public schools receive
• Legislature Focuses on Combatting Fraud and Waste in Welfare Programs
  • HF 1049 prohibits Medicaid funds from being used for transgender surgeries
• Sand is Slow to Protect Kids Online
  • After almost eight years in office, Rob Sand has finally realized House Republicans were right
• Democrats Oppose Creation of Medicaid Fraud Elimination Task Force
  • Despite criticism, Iowa has conducted more investigations with fewer staff than other states

Highlights in this edition:

• State Revenue for June Comes In Higher
  • For the year so far, sales and use tax receipts grew by 6.2 percent over Fiscal Year 2025
• Iowa Insurance Division Fraud Bureau Stops $2.28 million in Scams in 6 Months
  • 211 investigations opened across 96 Iowa communities
• Iowa Legislature Prioritizes Rural Health Care
  • Iowa’s Rural Health Transformation Plan has 5 initiatives - with a major cancer initiative investing $183 million to increase screening access, University of Iowa Cancer analyses, cancer hubs, and radon mitigation
• Republicans Delivered Increases in Monitoring and Water Quality Funding for FY 2027
  • HF 2771 provides a new funding this fiscal year for monitoring

Highlights in this edition:

• Local Audit Prompts More Questions about Iowa City School District’s Finances and What the State Auditor’s Office Knew about the Burgeoning Scandal
  • Sand’s own official website lists the Auditor’s official responsibilities and includes “The Auditor of State has responsibility for audits of counties, cities, school districts, and other governmental subdivisions.”
• Iowa Rural Certified Site Initiative Showing Success
  • The Iowa Rural Certified Site Initiative is a program created by Iowa House Republicans during the 2024 legislative session to help rural communities offset the costs of preparing industrial sites
• Department of Education Releases Guidance on Classroom Behavior Bill
  • Allows teachers to exclude a student from the classroom if they meet certain criteria
• Vehicle Fees - How Does Iowa Compare with Some Neighboring States
  • Illinois has a state gas tax set at 48.3 cents per gallon (second highest rate in the nation) plus local governments assess their own gas tax ranging from 3 to 8 cents plus Illinois assesses a 6.25 percent sales tax on gas purchases 

Highlights in this edition:

• Do They Know What They Are Doing?
  • Over the past month, the Iowa Auditor of State’s office has put out two “reports” that can be more accurately characterized as political campaign statements
• The Great American State Fair is Coming to the Washington DC National Mall
  • The “Great American State Fair” starts on June 25 and concludes on July 10
• Facts Optional in Auditor’s “Report”
  • The Auditor’s “report” got basic facts incorrect
• With America Celebrating Our 250th Birthday, House Republicans Believe Real History is Important
  • Students should not be taught that America is bad, racist, or evil as if those ideas are incontrovertible facts
• Iowa's Gun Rights Are Stronger Than Ever This Independence Day
  • House Republicans have also strengthened Iowa's self-defense laws to ensure law-abiding citizens are not treated like criminals when they protect themselves or their families
• Property Tax Reform & Owning Your First Home
  • The new program—FirstHome Iowa Accounts—will work like the already successful Iowa 529 plans and help pave the way to homeownership for the next generation of Iowa families

Highlights in this edition:

• Governor Completes Work on FY 2027 Budget
  • The Fiscal Year 2027 General Fund budget will spend $9.6441 billion This represents a 1.42% increase over the current year’s expenditures
• Iowa House GOP Leads the Charge on Limiting Screen Time in Schools
  • Research shows that screen time negatively impacts early child development by decreasing learning and attention
• Republicans Attack Fraud and Waste in Welfare Programs
  • SF 2422 implements new eligibility verification thresholds that must be met before individuals can receive public assistance
• Republicans Have Invested Over $1 Billion in Water Quality Since 2013
  • This session, the Iowa Legislature passed aggressive increases in water quality funding as well as a major investment in treating nitrates
• Governor Signs House GOP Bill on Habitual Criminals
  • Iowans have seen career criminals and repeat offenders in other states be released by judges more concerned with the criminal’s rights than the innocent victims’ rights
• Property Tax Reform—Why Revenue Caps Are a Necessity
  • Regardless of assessment growth, local governments may increase revenue collections by no more than two percent year over year – ending the practice of relying on assessment windfalls while claiming levy rates were not increased

Highlights in this edition:

• FY 2027 Infrastructure Budget Makes Major Investments into Iowa Communities
  • $10 million in state money matches a grant from the federal Department of War to Iowa State University Research Park to construct large fermenters to be used for research and create new substances made with Iowa-grown products – helping with the nation’s defense and new industries in Iowa 
  • The very popular Community Attractions and Tourism program will again receive $10 million spread out across the state for local infrastructure projects
  • The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) receives $3.7 million next year to build a firing range dedicated to ILEA’s use
• House Republicans Pass Education Bills to Support Parents, Improve Classroom Discipline and get Back to Basics
  • SF 2428 protects teachers and students from physical abuse and HF 2670 eliminates destructive woke requirements from education requirements and gets back to basics while adding physical fitness and nutrition to Iowa’s health curriculum
• House Republicans Approve Bills to Curb Waste, Increase Transparency
  • Across Iowa there have been high profile cases of public employees receiving large taxpayer paid settlements after leaving their positions, Iowans have a right to access information about how those institutions are managed and how employees are held accountable
• House Republicans Crack Down on Repeat Offenders, Child Predators and Woke Prosecutors
  • Repeat felons face real consequences, child predators must serve their sentences and woke prosectors can no longer let repeat offenders off the hook
• English Proficiency Requirement, Citizenship Verification, English-Only Driver’s Tests Among Bills Approved in Transportation Committee
  • SF 2426 requires those applying for or renewing a commercial driver’s license to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency in order to get their license
• Constitutional Amendment Protecting Income Tax Cuts Heads to Voters
  • If future Democrats decide to follow through with threats to undo Iowa’s flat tax put in place by the biggest income tax in Iowa history—it would take a super majority
• Property Tax Reform Reaches Governor’s Desk
  • The bill saves Iowa property taxpayers over $4.0 billion in the next six years

Highlights in this edition: 

• Manufacturing 4.0 Grants for Fiscal Year 2026
  • The grants help small- and mid-size Iowa manufacturers
• House Republicans Vote to Get Dangerous Repeat Offenders Off the Street
  • County attorneys are expected to protect the community putting the safety of law-abiding Iowans ahead of the needs of criminals
• Are Electric Vehicles Paying into the Road Use Tax Fund to Support Iowa Roads?
  • Back in 2019, the Legislature created a series of new registration fees and fuel taxes for alternatively fueled vehicles 
• House Ways and Means Committee Passes Proposed Constitutional Amendment
  • With consistent criticism from Democrats targeting income tax reductions, the amendment is needed to protect future generations of Iowans from income tax increases spearheaded by Democrats

Highlights in this edition: 

• Republicans Pass Bill to De-Woke Iowa's Education Code
  • This bill strikes terms which serve as the entry point for destructive ideologies like DEI, Critical Race Theory and other woke ideas into classrooms
• House Amends MAHA bill, Ensures More Physical Activity 
  
  • Iowa currently ranks 11th in the nation for adult obesity and one in six children in Iowa are considered obese
• House Amends Welfare Bill to Focus on True Safety-Net
  • The bill reemphasizes that safety-net programs for low-income Iowans are not intended to be forever government dependent programs
• House Passes Property Tax Bill
  • Instead of worrying about government spending needs, the bill clearly puts the property taxpayer first