01-10-2022 |
Iowa legislators reconvened today in Des Moines to kick off the 2022 legislative session. Traditionally, the first week of session is largely ceremonial highlighted by the Governor’s Condition of the State address. Governor Reynolds’ address is scheduled for 6:00 PM on Tuesday, January 11th. It can be viewed on Iowa PBS’ website (LINK) or streamed on her Facebook page (LINK). The full ceremonial schedule is outlined in the adjacent column.
Republicans, who are entering the sixth year of a ‘GOP trifecta’, have identified taxes and workforce among their legislative priorities. The State of Iowa ended FY21 with a balance of $1.238 billion in its general fund. This is the largest surplus in the state’s history which has spurred significant discussion on potential tax reform. Democratic leadership has stated that any tax cuts should focus on middle-class Iowans. Legislative leaders from both parties have identified workforce as another priority for the upcoming session. A comprehensive workforce bill is expected to be introduced by Governor Reynolds which may include changes to Iowa’s unemployment code, childcare access, and housing initiatives. Other key issues this year will include legislation addressing education, biofuels, placemaking, and carbon sequestration.
As this session is the second in the 89th General Assembly, the session is set for 100 calendar days with a target adjournment date of April 19, 2022. Accordingly, the legislative calendar is more condensed with the following key deadlines:
- January 10: First day of session.
- January 21: Final day for individual Senator/Representative bill requests.
- February 18: First legislative funnel.
- March 10: Revenue Estimating Conference meets.
- March 18: Second legislative funnel.
- April 19th: 100th calendar day and target adjournment date.
Committees in each house will meet throughout this first week. These meetings will include an introduction of members and may outline committee priorities for the session. The committee lists can be found HERE and this week’s committee schedules are embedded below and linked HERE (House) and HERE (Senate).
To stay up-to-date on the 2022 Iowa Legislative session or to learn more about BrownWinick’s Lobbying and Public Policy team, click here.