To the People of House District 95

Stubbornly high prices for heavy equipment, supplies, and technology continue to impact the budget of the Department of Transportation. This was the Department’s message as it presented its Fiscal Year 2026 spending proposal to the House Transportation, Infrastructure, and Capitals budget subcommittee on Monday.

The Department and Governor Reynolds are proposing to spend $482.6 million on DOT operations and facility improvements in Fiscal Year 2026. This is an increase of $12.5 million over the current fiscal year’s spending level. The vast majority of the increase is driven by replacement costs for equipment.

The DOT is replacing vehicles and equipment on a 12-year schedule. And again, this year, replacement costs have taken a big jump. As an example, the Department said the cost of replacing a truck purchased in 2013 for $132,000 had risen to $226,000 last year. That is 71% increase over 12 years. DOT is working to stretch out the working life of some vehicles beyond their scheduled replacement date as it tries to combat the rise in prices and continued supply chair issues. But still, the budget line item for equipment replacement in Fiscal Year 2026 will go up by another $10.2 million, with the total cost of this year’s new equipment coming in at almost $40 million.

The Governor’s proposal also includes investments in safety equipment. DOT is proposing to deploy new equipment for replacing potholes, by deploying trucks where employees would remain in the cab while filling the pothole. The need for this was made clear when a DOT employee was killed last spring in the Council Bluffs area while attempting to make road repairs.

Another part of the budget is the annual effort to maintain the Department’s network of 100 garages around the state.  As the Department completes the replacement of the maintenance garages in Albia and Jefferson, it is next garage project for Fiscal Year 2026 is in Waterloo. The new garage will be built on the site of the current facility, helping to reduce the cost of the project. Still, the new facility with 38 maintenance bays and 6 wash bays will cost $18.9 million to construct.

In addition to the regular budget request, DOT is also asking for authorization to begin replacing the 20-year-old computer system handling drivers licenses and vehicle registration. Building the new computer system will be a three-year project costing a total of $60 million. If approved, the new system would be functioning by FY 2029 and is expected to save $12.5 million annually.

The Cost of Higher Education

The cost of college is going up. But what is included in that cost and what are some of the reasons behind it? One is the rise in administrative support versus instructional staff. According to US News, at public four-year schools in 2010, 32.1% of expenditures were for instruction and 23.7% were for academic support, student services and institutional support. In 2021, 27.4% was spent on instructional spending and 22.9% on academic support, students services and institutional support.

US News states that the steady growth in these administrative and nonteaching staff positions is in part due to DEI initiatives, as well as mental health, entertainment, intramural sports, and workforce preparedness and initiatives. Jay P. Greene, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s center for Educational Policy said: “A university is not an all-service commune with full-service, soup-to-nuts care for every need, as if students were children. The core mission of a school is teaching and research, so those should be the priorities, as well as limiting the cost to families and taxpayers. But that’s not their priority. Their priority is to expand empires.”

Many agree with the sentiment that there is administrative bloat. Andrew Gillen, senior policy analyst at the Texas Public Policy Foundation; Gregory Price, a business professor at the University of New Orleans; Bengamin Ginsberg, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University, Todd J. Zywicki, professor at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, and Christopher Koopman, executive director of The Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, to name a few, have all spoken out about the issue or published research on the issue.

Iowa Regents data on Instructional vs Non-Instructional Staffing pulled from the IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) database is below.  As you can see, the non-instructional staffing numbers are much higher than instructional staffing numbers.

The graph below shows what that split is for the top 25 endowed universities. Again, there is a large gap between instructional and non-instructional staff.

The increase in non-instructional staff cannot be separated from the discussion the continually rising cost of college.

When a subcommittee is held on a bill, members of the public and the lobby have a chance to provider Representatives with information and to speak either in favor or against the proposal. Subcommittees normally have three members, two from the majority party, and one from the minority party. Many bills advance from a subcommittee to full committee, however some bills have end up being set aside due to concerns about the policy changes. This week judiciary committee subcommittee members advanced some bills but chose to stop others that weren’t ready for full committee.

HF 17 – Castration for Sex Offenders
House File 17 introduces a requirement for surgical castration for individuals convicted of serious sex offenses involving victims under twelve years old. The court may order this procedure in addition to other punishments, and it must be performed either before probation or within a week of release from confinement. After careful consideration members of the subcommittee decided not to advance the bill at this time.

HSB 12 – Criminal Groping
The bill would have increased penalties for groping making a first offense a serious misdemeanor, a second offense an aggravated misdemeanor, and third or subsequent offense a class ‘D’ felony It also stipulates that if the offense is determined to be sexually motivated, the offender must register as a sex offender, with the classification depending on the victim’s age. Representatives were concerned that the bill, as proposed would catch individuals who had no intention of groping another and that the penalty structure could create unintended problems. The bill is currently tabled, unless new language is brought forward.

HF 64 – Obscene Material
HF 64 increases the penalty for those who provide pornographic material to minors. Under current law it is a serious misdemeanor. The bill creates a tiered penalty structure. A first offense will remain a serious misdemeanor, second offense an aggravated misdemeanor with a mandatory one-year sentence, a third or subsequent offense will be a class “D” felony with mandatory confinement for 3 years.  Members advanced the bill to committee for further discussion and a vote.

This week the House Public Safety Committee advanced three bill focused on keeping Iowans safer on the roadways. The bills were sponsored by individual members as well as the Department of Public Safety.

House File 41 – Failure to Maintain Control
House File 41 enhances road safety by imposing additional penalties if a person does not maintain control of their vehicle and cause serious injury or death to another. Under current Iowa law, drivers are required to control their vehicles and reduce speed in dangerous situations, including when approaching pedestrians, navigating intersections, or passing emergency vehicles. The existing penalty for not reducing speed is a fine of $135. HF 41 raises the fine for causing serious injury to $500 and a suspension of drivers license for 90 day. If the accident results in a death the fine is increased to $1,000 and a potential loss of license for up to 180 days.

House File 45 – Excessive Speeding
House File 45 will increase in the penalty for speeding more than twenty miles per hour over the speed limit. Currently, the fine for this violation is $135 plus an additional $5 for each mile per hour over the limit. This bill seeks to raise the base fine to $285, while maintaining the additional $5 for each mile per hour over the twenty-mile threshold. With a record-breaking number of drivers being ticket at excessive speeds, raising the penalty is one more way Iowa law enforcement can encourage drives to slow down.

House Study Bill 29 – THC Open Containers
House Study Bill 29 aims to enhance road safety by prohibiting both drivers and passengers from having open containers of beverages containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in motor vehicles. This legislation aligns with existing laws that already restrict open alcoholic beverages in vehicles. Under the bill, an open or unsealed container of a THC beverage, cannot be accessible in the passenger area, but can be stored in the trunk or behind the last upright seat if the vehicle lacks a trunk. Violating this law would result in a simple misdemeanor, carrying a scheduled fine of $260.

This week, the House Health and Human Services Committee heard a presentation on progress implementing Iowa’s newly improved Behavioral Health System that will improve outcomes, remove duplication, and create a statewide plan. Recently, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Iowa Primary Care Association will serve statewide as the Administrative Service Organization for the state’s redesigned Behavioral Health System after winning a competitive bidding process. IPCA and DHHS participated in the presentation this week.

“The ASO is responsible for establishing a network of providers and ensuring that all Iowans have clear, consistent pathways to care and support they need. Alongside local leaders, school officials, law enforcement, health care providers and public health professionals, the ASO will develop and lead a unified operational approach for each district to meet district community needs.”

The bill that passed last year additionally did the following:

• The behavioral health service system has the purpose of prevention, education, early intervention, treatment, recovery support, and crisis services for mental health, substance use, tobacco use, and problem gambling.
• Each district will have a district behavioral health advisory council.
• The bill directs the funds from the federal community health mental health services block grant and the federal substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant to DHHS.
• Creates a central data repository for behavioral health data with demographic information, expenditure data, and services and supports provided to individuals.
• Establishes a behavioral health fund, with similar funding to the existing annual increases based on a state growth factor.  The bill prohibits an ASO from spending more than 7% on administrative costs.
• Provides $3 million from the regional incentive fund for 988. The FY2025 ending balance for the fund is expended to be over $40 million. This bill also appropriated $1 million from the regional incentive fund for DHHS administrative costs and requires DHHS to report to the legislature on administrative costs and funds for a central data repository.

Below is the district map that will go into effect July 1, 2025, that transitions the current county run mental health and disability services regional system to a state behavioral health service system with the state contracted administrative service organization governed by the Iowa DHHS.

This week the Local Government Committee advanced House File 37 for consideration for the full House of Representatives. The bill, introduced by Representative Ingels, would provide flexibility to counties for salaries of county attorneys. Currently, 97 counties are not allowed to provide an annual salary to a county attorney higher than Iowa district court judge. Many rural counties in Iowa have struggled to higher qualified county attorneys with this salary cap. Additionally, assistant county attorneys’ salaries are limited to 85% of their county attorney’s salaries. These factors have increasingly made it difficult for counties to hire adequate staffing for the county attorney office.

By removing this one size fits all salary imitation, House File 37 will empower county boards of supervisors to make the best salary decisions for their local needs. Legislation like this that allows local governments the flexibility to govern to their needs better serves their communities.

As January’s arctic temperatures and occasional snows hopefully in the rear-view mirror, Iowans are now experiencing another ritual of winter – potholes.  Getting rid of these takes more than just a few days of spring-like temperatures.

Potholes are mostly caused by moisture getting into or underneath the pavement. During the freeze and thaw periods, moisture can cause the asphalt or concrete to shift, buckle, or break. As vehicles drive over the weakened areas of the road, your vehicle’s suspension takes a beating.

The Iowa Department of Transportation maintenance staffs, as well as city and county crews, attempt to address the driving menace by patching potholes as quickly as they can.  To do this, they must use cold-mix asphalt to fill the holes. This mix is not considered to be a long-lasting solution, but it does help to smooth out the roads until the weather warms up enough to more permanent solution can be implemented in the spring.

Permanent patches use hot-mix asphalt or concrete and work best when the temperatures are above freezing and stay that way.  So, this work is usually completed in the spring and summer.

Key to addressing potholes is identifying them.  Drivers can help road crews with this.  To report potholes on streets or county roadways, Iowans should contact their local city administrator/engineer or county engineer. Drivers can also report potholes on the interstates, Iowa numbered routes, and U.S. highways to the Iowa DOT’s maintenance manager located nearest the problem roadway. If you see a pothole on one of these roads, give the DOT district staff a call: 641-472-4171.

Iowa’s labor force participation rate rose to 66.4% in December amid an influx of recent graduates entering the workforce, while the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 3.2%. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate decreased to 4.1% in December.

“December’s report shows modest growth as a result of hiring across most parts of the Iowa economy, and employers added 4,000 jobs,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “The increase in labor force participation was driven largely by college graduates who quickly decided to enter our workforce. With over 50,000 open jobs in Iowa, there is still an abundance of opportunities for graduates and other Iowans looking for their next job.”

The number of unemployed Iowans increased to 53,900 in December from 53,000 in November. The total number of working Iowans rose to 1,635,500 in December. This figure is 2,700 higher than November and 19,500 lower than one year ago.

Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment
Businesses in Iowa added 4,000 jobs in December, raising total nonfarm employment to 1,606,200 jobs. This is the second-consecutive increase following a gain of 3,300 jobs in November. Service industries fueled the hiring and were led by gains in trade and transportation along with healthcare and social assistance. Goods-producing industries were little changed versus November as increases in construction were matched by losses in manufacturing. Private industries overall advanced by 2,300 jobs compared to November. Government (a sector that includes federal, state, and local political subdivisions, as well as schools, universities, and public hospitals) increased by 1,700 jobs in December. Most of this movement happened at the local level, with gains coming from local school districts and public administration (city government). Overall, December’s job increases have brought Iowa’s total nonfarm employment up 7,400 annually.

Construction added 800 jobs in December to lead all industries. This is the second consecutive increase for this sector, which now rests up slightly for the year. Accommodations and food services increased by 600 jobs and has added 2,300 jobs since July. Hotels and motels provided much of the increase this month. Health care and social assistance added 500 jobs to end the year. This sector has added the most jobs annually and has increased by 2,400 jobs since September. Trade and transportation combined for an increase of 600 jobs in December. Wholesale and retail trade were responsible for most of the jobs gained and fueled the first monthly increase for trade and transportation since July. Losses in December were led by manufacturing which shed 800 jobs to end the year. Durable goods factories pared most of the jobs this month (-700 jobs).

Compared to last year, health care and social assistance has gained 4,400 jobs to lead all private sectors. This increase fueled an overall gain of 6,100 jobs in education and health care services. Leisure and hospitality also increased by 6,100 jobs annually. Most of these gains were in accommodations and food services (+3,900 jobs). Conversely, manufacturing has shed 7,700 jobs over the past 12 months to lead all sectors. Nondurable goods factories are down 4,100 jobs while durable goods shops combined have pared 3,600 jobs.

As I shared in my last newsletter, some of these dates are quite a ways out and are subject to change, but I will make sure to include a most updated list every week.

Des Moines County:

• Greater Burlington Partnership Forum: Friday, February 21st from 8 – 9AM at the Greater Burlington Partnership in the Winegard Board Room.
• Greater Burlington Partnership Forum: Friday, March 21st from 8 – 9AM at the Greater Burlington Partnership in the Winegard Board Room.
• Greater Burlington Partnership Forum: Friday, April 18th from 8 – 9AM at the Greater Burlington Partnership in the Winegard Board Room.

Henry County:

• Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Forum: Saturday, February 22nd time and place TBD.
• Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Forum: Friday, March 14th time and place TBD.

Louisa County:

• Self Organized Forum: Saturday, February 1st from 11AM – 12PM at Wapello City Hall in the City Council Chambers. (TOMORROW)
• Self Organized Forum: Saturday, March 1st from 11AM – 12PM at Wapello City Hall in the City Council Chambers.

Muscatine County:

• Muscatine Community College Forum: Saturday, February 1st at 9AM at Muscatine Community College in the lounge in the Student Services Building. (TOMORROW)
• Self Organized Forum: Saturday, March 1st from 9 – 10AM at Wilton City Hall in the Community Room.
• Greater Muscatine Chamber Forum: date, time, and location TBD.

As always, you can can shoot me an email with any questions or concerns at taylor.collins@legis.iowa.gov or you can call the Capitol Switchboard and leave me a message at (515) 281-7340.
Sincerely,

Rep. Taylor Collins