Lower than a month out from the start of the 2021 session of the Iowa State Legislature, pre-filed payments from companies have begun to circulate in.
These first pre-filed payments are normally submitted by state authorities companies or commissions which have met in the course of the interim. In the event that they’re thought-about and/or authorized in any respect, these payments don’t normally generate a lot controversy and are sometimes folded into annual budgets for one division or one other. However, they do have actual impacts on coverage, applications or spending by the state.
Beneath are only a few of these submitted up to now:
- Impressed by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the Division of Transportation has filed laws that may allow the cargo of a great deal of reduction provides that exceed statutory weight limits during times of nationwide emergency. Underneath present regulation, the Iowa DOT lacks the authority to situation such particular permits round federal limits.
- Following widespread complaints in the course of the contentious, current 2020 election cycle, the Iowa Ethics and Marketing campaign Disclosure Board has proposed laws to shut attainable loopholes concerning federal marketing campaign indicators. The invoice specifies that marketing campaign indicators positioned by candidates and political motion committees for federal places of work are topic to protections below Iowa Code. Therein, an individual who willfully damages, defaces or removes such marketing campaign indicators is responsible of a severe misdemeanor, punishable by confinement for no a couple of yr and a nice of between $430 and $2,560.
- Increasingly of those pre-filed payments will pile up forward of the 2021 session, scheduled to open on Jan. 11, 2021. They are going to be joined by an increasing number of payments filed by lawmakers themselves, quite than simply departments and different companies.
Iowa’s Republican Congressional Delegation rebuffs Hart
U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and U.S. Rep.-elect Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, co-signed a letter to U.S. Home management urging them to reject effort by 2nd District Congressional candidate Rita Hart to battle the results of the 2020 election which noticed Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Mariannette Miller-Meeks defeat Hart’s re-election bid.
“As you understand, Dr. Miller-Meeks was not too long ago licensed because the winner of this contest,” learn the letter. “Ms. Hart has said publicly she intends to invoke the Federal Contested Elections Act (FCEA), 2 U.S.C. § 381, et seq., to alter the results of this election. In so doing, Ms. Hart selected to bypass Iowa’s established course of and honest and neutral court docket system.”
The letter insists the suitable course for Hart would have been to undergo the Iowa court docket system, quite than turning to Congress to intervene within the shut race.
“Ms. Hart is asking the Home of Representatives to create a harmful precedent,” learn the letter. “We agree the Home and Senate alike retain the last word energy below the U.S. Structure to find out the election and {qualifications} of its members. However the existence of this energy doesn’t indicate the knowledge of utilizing it with out first requiring dropping candidates to avail themselves of treatments below their very own state’s election legal guidelines. Iowans rightly believe within the integrity of our state’s election officers and course of.”
Iowa Senate Democrats suggest large meals assist
Members of the Iowa Senate have known as for a multi-million greenback state funding in meals help for struggling Iowans, as quickly as attainable within the 2021 Legislative session.
They suggest that the state use a few of the $308 million leftover within the state’s price range final fiscal yr and/or the $700 million-strong state wet day fund to fill gaps widened by financial impacts of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Emergency authorization of ‘rainy-day’ funds for supplemental meals help will assist fight meals insecurity, which has tripled for Iowa households with kids for the reason that begin of the pandemic,” stated Iowa Senate Minority Chief Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, in a Fb publish. “That is greater than a wet day — it’s a thunderstorm.”
Iowa Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, joined that decision and shared the publish on her personal Fb web page. She additionally provided one other funding possibility.
“Serving to hungry Iowa households is the best factor to do and is a professional use of Iowa’s federal COVID reduction {dollars},” she posted.
