Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Three

Capitol Update

General Assembly Update.  The third week of session was hectic with 176 subcommittee meetings scheduled.  We expect this pace to continue as the first major funnel is fast approaching.  By February 16, all bills must be voted out of the Committee of origin.  That means the bill must be filed, subcommittee assigned, passed subcommittee, and passed Committee.  Not all of the bills that pass the subcommittee will move through the Committee, and even fewer are brought up for debate on the floor, thus the “funnel”. Stay Tuned. 

Foreign Land Ownership.  A priority mentioned by the Governor in her State of the State address was filed on Thursday.  SSB 3113 imposes new registration and reporting requirements for agricultural land acquired or held by foreign businesses, foreign governments, or nonresident aliens.  In addition to general information, the bill requires a statement of the purpose for conducting business in the state and a description of the purpose of the interest in agricultural land as it relates to the stated business purpose.  The bill also requires a listing of all other interests in agricultural land in the United States that exceed 250 acres.  The Secretary of State is required to provide an annual summary of foreign landholding in the state.  The bill allows for enforcement by the Attorney General and provides civil penalties. 

Department of Revenue. The House continued holding Appropriations Subcommittees this week. One of this week’s highlights was the House Administration and Regulation Appropriations Committee which heard from Director of Revenue, Mary Mosiman and Chair of the Iowa Utilities Board, Erik Helland.  Mosiman discussed integration of the Alcoholic Beverages Division and the Iowa Lottery into the Department of Revenue.  This was part of the Governor’s state government realignment bill last session.  She displayed the new IDR Chatbot - the Kernel, showed the updated rollout schedule for tax modernization, and provided interesting information on Department of Revenue income and expenses including lottery sales and alcohol sales statistics.  This informative presentation can be found here. 

Iowa Utilities Board.  Chairperson Erik Helland, started by informing the Committee that when he was a legislator he had sat on the Administration and Regulation Committee.  Helland distributed a one-pager which can be found here and discussed the major issues the Iowa Utilities Board has been working on.  He briefly touched on the IUB’s budget request and staffing needs, although clarified that the IUB does not receive general fund dollars.  The IUB is funded through payment of costs for regulatory activities.  Last year the IUB was directed to hire a consultant to review ratemaking procedures for investor-owned utilities.  The IUB worked with London Economics International, held a series of meetings (policy charrettes) and issued an extensive report which can be found here.  Helland continued that work continues on the Governor’s Order to review administrative rules and highlighted the immense amount of staff time and work on the hazardous pipeline cases and ratemaking cases. 

Minor's Driver's License Bill moves forward.  Last interim, the Minor's Driver's License interim study committee met to discuss changes to Iowa’s minors drivers license law.  The Final Report can be found here.  This session, Committee recommendations were drafted into bill form, SSB 3097 and HSB 612.  On Wednesday, the Senate bill passed out of the Senate Workforce Committee, and it is now renumbered as SF 2109.  Instead of a school license, the bill proposes a special minors restricted license and a work restricted license for minors under the age of 16. 

In the Know  

Elections.  Last week, we discussed Senate retirements.  This week we will talk about House of Representative retirements.  Representatives Brian Best, Dave Deyoe, and Stan Gustafson. 

• Representative Brian Best was first elected for the 2015 session, he currently represents District 11.  He has been Transportation Chair since 2021.  Best and his wife are owners of Western Iowa Sleeps, a sleep lab. 
• Representative Dave Deyoe is the Chair of House Labor and Workforce.  He started serving in 2007.  Deyoe, a farmer, serves rural Marshall County. 
• Representative Stan Gustafson, an attorney and a member of the United States Marine Corp, was first elected in a special election in 2014.  He is Vice-Chair of the Ethics Committee. 

Legislative Forums  

While many lawmakers hold forums in their districts year-round, it’s especially important for them to hear from constituents when they’re making decisions during the legislative session.  The events listed below are opportunities to get involved. You can also find these events on BrownWinick’s Iowa Political Events page.   
 

Key Dates — 2024 Iowa Legislative Session 

Scene on the Hill

January 24, 2024: The Iowa Firefighters Association held their annual chili cook-off at the Capitol which draws lawmakers, staff, lobbyists, and others for lunch and to vote on the best chili cooked by different volunteer departments.