The legislative session is nearing the halfway point, with the first funnel quickly approaching. Funnel week is a deadline for the legislature to get bills through all standing committees in either the House or the Senate, in order to remain in consideration for the rest of session. Funnel week helps us narrow our focus to […]
Collective Bargaining Reforms Key collective bargaining reforms that would help control rising costs for school districts are: • Allowing an arbitrator to choose between two impasse points, not just an either/or scenario. The reason to avoid arbitration is that, given what an arbitrator is currently allowed to consider, management is likely to lose. The playing […]
(DES MOINES) – Rep. Guy Vander Linden (R-Oskaloosa) met with John Stearns from Oskaloosa at the Capitol this week. John visited the Statehouse on behalf of Fareway and Iowa Grocers to discuss issues with legislators.
The legislative process is in full swing with many sub-committee and full committee meetings every day. Senate File 269 was approved by the Labor and Business Relations Committee this week. This bill raises the minimum wage in Iowa from the current $7.25 to $8.00 on July 1, 2015 and to $8.75 on July 1, 2016. […]
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 […]
In its latest release, the Department of Revenue’s Iowa Leading Indicators Index showed modest growth in December 2014. The Index rose to 109.4 for the month, a slight hike over November’s rating of 109.3. Six of the eight components making up the Index improved in December, including average weekly manufacturing hours, residential building permits, and […]
January Figures Bring State Revenue Concerns State revenues fell in January, raising concerns that the state may not meet last December’s projection for growth during the current fiscal year. January’s General Fund revenue was $29.5 million (-5.0%) below what the state took in during January 2014. This put revenue growth for the first seven months […]
(DES MOINES) – Tuesday, Rep. Guy Vander Linden (R-Oskaloosa) voted in favor of Senate File 126, a bill which updates Iowa tax code with tax changes made by the federal government last year, resulting in close to $100 million in tax cuts for Iowa small businesses and families. The bill also includes tax deductions of: […]
Dear friends in District 80, the last two weeks at the Peoples’ House has been very hectic. Bills and subcommittees have been assigned & attended. We’ve had numerous presentations from: citizens and lobbyists, the Economic Development Authority, the DNR, the University of Northern Iowa , the Air Quality Bureau, and Iowa National Guard. Also, Patrick […]
Military Homeownership Assistance Program Helps 423 Veterans in FY 2014 The Military Homeownership Assistance Program is now in its tenth year and is still going strong. The program provides down payment assistance to military service members and veterans purchasing homes in Iowa. The goal of the program has been to help these heroes make their […]
