SHEETS SNAPSHOT

Rep. Larry Sheets (R) (photo by Don Hubbard)

Rep. Larry Sheets (R) (photo by Don Hubbard)

Dear friends in District 80. This is the end of the 6th week of the session. The process of “Running Bills” is active with individual legislators holding Subcommittees, “moving the Bill” in Committee, and finally debating it on the floor of the House- if it got that far. If it receives 51 votes in the House, it passes on to the Senate for their approval. If it gets past the Senate vote, it then requires the signature of the Governor. On a personal note, when I think a Bill is a good one, the process frustrates me. On the other hand, when I dislike a Bill, I am thankful for the deliberate process we follow.

Some constituents believe the Gas Tax Bill has passed. That is not so. It passed in Committee after some leadership shenanigans, but it has not gotten to the floor of the House. The committee was altered by replacing Representatives Nunn and Highfill (who would have voted against the bill). This is unprecedented and disturbing to me.

It is tempting to list the Bills we are dealing with, but the list is long. One time-consuming Bill I am running relates to the responsibilities for hospital medical expenses for prisoners by counties and cities. It settles who pays for the hospital fees when an arrested person is treated.

Presentations from government departments continue in our committees. One EPA presentation tried to convince us to be happy with the rules dictated by the Obama administration for the closure of coal fired electric power plants and the resulting increase in our electric bills. We didn’t “drink the Kool Aid.”

The new Director of Department of Workforce Development, Beth Townsend, made a presentation to the Economic Development Subcommittee. I asked her “What wisdom was there in removing Workforce Development in the county with the highest unemployment and the lowest family income-Appanoose County?” Her response was that she was new on the job, but would review it.

Upcoming forums:

* February 28th : “Osky Eggs & Issues” @ 8:30am at Smokey Row in Oskaloosa. Please contact me with any questions or concerns at larry.sheets@legis.iowa.gov or 641-895-6153.

Posted by on Feb 19 2015. Filed under Local News, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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