Capital Beat: January 27
State of Iowa Seal
The Iowa General Assembly was in session again today. Perhaps the biggest event of the day came in the early morning session of the senate when Senator Sorenson moved to suspend the rules and bring up SJR 8, an act declaring marriage to be between one man and one women. This motion was defeated 24-26.
The Legislature also convened in a joint session to hear the governor speak on his budget proposal. You can view the full text of Governor Branstad’s speech by clicking HERE .
In the morning session of the House, two more bills were introduced today. HF127, an act relating to the definition of veteran for purposes of the military service property tax exemption, was introduced/sponsored by Representatives Kaufmann, Qurik, J. Taylor, and Thomas. HF 131, an act repealing provisions establishing an environmentally preferable cleaning policy applicable to specified state buildings and educational institutions and including effective date provisions, was also introduced by Representative S. Olson. Several resolutions were also adopted including HR 5, a resolution to recognizing January 27th, 2011 as a day to honor Iowa’s community colleges on their 45th anniversary.
In the morning Session of the Senate, the Senate approved SR 2, a resolution a resolution relating to the rules of the senate, on a party line 26-24 vote. The senate also approved SCR 2, a concurrent resolution relating to the compensation of chaplains, officers, and employees of the 84th general assembly. The Senate then convened in joint session of the house for Governor Branstad’s budget address and upon dissolution of the joint session, adjourned until 1:00 pm on Monday.
In the afternoon session of the house, two bills were passed. HF 95, an act requiring citizens to show an identification when voting in person, was passed as amended on a vote of 60 to 40. The house also passed HF 94, an act requiring the development of a searchable budget database and internet site for the public to access the details of the expenditure of state tax revenues and a searchable tax rate database and internet site for the public to access the details of each tax rate for all taxing districts in the state of Iowa, as amended on a vote of 98-0.
Two more bills were also introduced in the afternoon session. HF 132, an act relating to recording requirements and required notices when approving, amending, or modifying certain urban renewal plans, was introduced by Representative Sands. HF 147, an act relating to the use of Bisphenol A in certain products, and providing penalties, was introduced/sponsored by Representatives Isenhart, Kearns, Witteben, Running-Marquardt, Hanson, Gaines, Wessel-Kroeschell, M. Smith, Mascher, Steckman, Abdul-Samad, Heddens, and Gaskill.
The House is set to convene tomorrow morning at 10:00 am and the Senate is set to convene again on Monday at 1:00 pm.
