Update From the House for District 80
Holly Brink (District 80) signs her Oath of Office on Monday, January 14, 2019.
by Rep. Holly Brink
Hello Friends,
I want to say thank you for all those who attended the legislative forums in Albia and Centerville this past Saturday to see Senator Rozenboom and myself. I greatly appreciate you all coming to share your questions and concerns about issues and legislation that affects our communities. I hope to see you all again during the next coming forums.
It has been a big week for the education budget here at the Capitol. On Monday, the House passed Files 306 and 307 which increase the state growth from 1.1 percent to 2.6 percent and modifies per pupil appropriation provisions, each respectively. With the passage of both bills, Iowa schools will have the funding to reduce per pupil inequity, address transportation costs, and improve general aid needed to ensure the quality of Iowa’s schools.
I am also pleased that the SAVE bill, HSB18, has made its way past the Education committee on Wednesday with an attached amendment. The bill, if signed into law, will extend the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education fund, a one cent state sales tax rate, until 2051. This keystone policy allows our state to have a reliable means to secure funding for our state’s education system through long term strategies. Through its extension, we can expect it to continue providing secured funding for the years to come.
To top off the week, the folks from the Enhance Iowa Board came to the Economic Growth committee to give a presentation on the Community Attraction and Tourism Committee (CAT) and the grants they provide. CAT is a subcommittee of the Enhance Iowa Board which meets to evaluate applications for community projects that seek to improve and/or maintain recreational and natural resources. CAT’s goal in distributing these grants is to improve on local assets so we can share our perspective on Iowa with our visitors and through this encourage them to consider Iowa as home. I enjoyed their discussion and I am glad to see all that they are doing to enhance Iowa.
Throughout this week, I can say that we have been doing well in making smart investments in Iowa that are sure to make great returns in the future. It’s important that we find sustainable solutions and responsibility manage our budget so that we can continue improving Iowa. As always, it’s an honor to be serving as your representative in the House. If you have any questions or concerns about what’s happening in the Capitol or in the district, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
