After a relaxing Easter it was nice to get back in the office and work on wrapping up this session. With the end of session on April 28th, it is imperative we start tying up loose ends and getting ready to debate on the floor. This week the Senate focused on the budget and finding some common ground with the House. It has taken some time, but I believe we are finally getting closer to an agreed number.

In the Workforce Committee on Tuesday, we moved Governor Reynolds’s appointees out of committee and now they will go to the Senate floor for debate. For the most part, all nominees were passed without any opposition. We had only two nominees who will be debated individually in the Senate Chamber, but I have no doubt their appointments will be passed.

This week we saw the Iowa Supreme Court hear arguments to lift the injunction on the Heartbeat bill, which was passed in 2018. This bill would ban abortions after a baby’s heartbeat is heard, with the exceptions for the cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. This bill was unfortunately held up by the courts and was unable to be enforced.

After this bill was initially passed, a liberal Iowa Supreme Court created a constitutional right to abortion in the state constitution. Following this, a district court judge placed a permanent injunction on the Heartbeat Bill due to the decision of the Supreme Court on the 72-hour bill, which implements a 72-hour waiting period before an abortion may proceed. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court relinquished the right to make decisions on this issue back to the states – where it should be. What works in California does not always work in Iowa, so giving states the power to make these decisions is crucial.

Following this decision, the Iowa Supreme Court also overturned the previous decision to make abortion a constitutional right. After this decision was flipped, Governor Reynolds asked the Iowa Supreme Court to lift the injunction and take another look at the constitutionality of the Heartbeat bill. I do not expect a decision to be made in the near future, but I hope that the injunction is lifted. If so, the lives of many unborn Iowans will be saved.

On a lighter note, I had the opportunity to sit down with Simon Conway and speak on traffic cams, my youth employment legislation, and property taxes. It was very fun to be able to have a lighthearted conversation on these topics. If you would like to listen to the talk show, you may follow the link below:

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/simon-conway-20710735/episode/simon-conway-property-taxes-gotcha-cams-112798069/

As a friendly reminder, Tax Day is coming up on April 18th! Now I know it is not everyone’s favorite day of the year, but due to the historic tax cuts Senate Republicans have passed, Tax Day will be less burdensome to Iowans. Starting in 2018 Senate Republicans passed the first historic tax relief plan, and just last year we passed the most recent tax relief package. This flattens Iowa’s income tax to 3.9 percent and eliminates the tax on retirement income and pensions. Income rates will continue to lower each year for the next couple of years until we reach that 3.9 percent flat rate. We Republican Senators are proud of passing this for Iowans and look forward to seeing Iowans keep more of their money.

I still have GREAT hope that we will be able to pass legislation to provide additional property tax relief! While the proposed plans between the House and the Senate are different, I remain optimistic that before the session ends, we will find an agreement.

As always, thank you all for your tremendous support. Your emails of support mean a great deal to me and I appreciate each of them. Please reach out with any questions on legislation you may have. Enjoy your weekend Senate District 44!

Sincerely,