The Rozenboom Report – March 21st, 2025

by Senator Ken Rozenboom
Two Weeks of Debate

There was no Rozenboom Report last week due to busy weekend with family and personal matters that needed attention. The last two weeks were primarily focused on floor debate and voting so I’ll provide a brief listing of some of the more significant bills that passed in the Senate over the last few days.

Senate File 295 authorizes the demolition and sale of the Wallace state office building. Since its opening in 1978, with needless government regulations during its construction, the Wallace building has consistently required an excessive level of maintenance and repair. The building needed extensive repairs expected to cost more than $80 million, so the best option is to demolish it. The state has other office space that can be used much more efficiently.

Senate File 311 reforms the civil service discipline process and bans the use of civilian review boards in Iowa. The goal of the bill is to provide more objective standards regarding disciplinary decisions involving civil service employees, such as police officers.

Senate File 22, known as the “hands free” bill, passed the Senate for at least the third time in recent years but never was taken up in the House. Hopefully they will also pass it this year so we can reduce the high level of distracted driving in Iowa.

The Senate also passed Senate File 469, establishing an emeritus physician license for a physician who is at least 60 years old and will be helping supervise and train resident physicians. The intent is, by creating an incentive for our physicians to continue their work, we can continue to sustain our current health care workforce while ensuring those coming up in the field are adequately trained and supervised throughout the early stages of their career.

Another important bill the Senate passed was Senate Joint Resolution 9. The resolution proposes an amendment to the Iowa Constitution to protect children and adults with disabilities from having to face an abuser in a courtroom. SJR 9 is an important protection for the most vulnerable victims as they go through the grueling process of testifying in court and help support them as they look for justice.

Senate File 277 makes several adjustments and clarifications to the chronic absenteeism policy passed last year. Throughout the beginning of the school year, we have heard from many parents and schools on the policy and were happy to work with them to make improvements to the law. The notable changes are the addition of several items to the list of exceptions for students, the format by which parents are notified of absences, and the added discretion for schools in future engagement meetings.

Senate File 319, the Patient’s Right to Save Act, requires all health care providers disclose the discounted cash price it will accept for specific health care services. The discounted cash price shall be available to both insured and uninsured individuals. Health care providers are also required to issue an itemized list of services received for cash payment. The bill also establishes a savings incentive program that permits covered individuals who met their deductible to receive half the price between the discounted cash payment and the negotiated price for medically necessary covered health care services.

Senate File 459 prohibits ranked choice and instant runoff voting in Iowa. It defines “ranked choice” or “instant runoff” voting as a means of casting and tabulating votes in which a voter ranks candidates in order of preference and ballots are tabulated in rounds. At the end of each round, the candidate receiving the fewest votes is eliminated and that candidate’s ballots are then defaulted to the voter’s next highest choice. The process continues until someone reaches a majority of votes.

Update on Iowa’s Financial Condition
The Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) met recently to update their projections about the state’s budget outlook so we can start shaping our budget for the next fiscal year. This provided us an update both on where we are looking to end the fiscal year and what revenue is projected to be for the FY 25-26 budget we will be working on.

Since 2017, Republicans have been advocating for sustainable, responsible budgeting. This meant focusing on priorities when it came to spending, providing reasonable increases to important areas, and enabling Iowa taxpayers to keep more of their own money. Conservative budgeting has allowed us to allocate millions of dollars in new spending to K-12 education each year. It has provided essential functions of government, like public safety, with dependable funding. Finally, responsible, conservative budgeting allowed us to implement one of the most historic tax bills in our state’s history, making Iowa’s income tax rate a flat 3.8 percent for all Iowans, and eliminating seniors’ retirement from the state income tax entirely.

We have known that budgeting for the 2025-26 fiscal year would be challenging because we will need to add more than $450 million to our spending for next year. This is due to several factors, including additional money for K-12 schools and an approximate $245 million Medicaid shortfall due to changes in the federal Medicaid contribution. Also, as expected, net receipts are down because of the implementations of our 3.8 percent flat income tax rate. There are no adjustments needed for the FY 25 budget.

Despite those expected challenges, the state of Iowa’s financial condition remains in excellent shape. We expect to have a $2 billion carryover when the books close on June 30. Our statutory rainy day funds are full with nearly $1 billion, and the Taxpayer Relief Fund balance is well over $4 billion.