Helena Hayes Capitol Update – February 25th, 2024

by Helena Hayes

Week 7

I really appreciate it when pastors from my district take time out of their busy schedules to come and pray with me and others while we are at the capitol. Thank you to Pastor Chad Lierman (above photo) of Trinity Church in Oskaloosa for visiting and petitioning the Lord on our behalf.

For the first time in my legislative experience, House leadership extended to me an excused absence for much of the week after a death in the family. Special thanks to my clerk, Jared, who picked up much of the slack with emails and this newsletter! He has put together for my dedicated readers helpful updates and announcements below. Thank you all for your support and engagement in the political process.

-Helena

Education Funding

· This week, the Iowa House passed House File 2613 to increase SSA funding by 3%.

· Supplemental State Aid, often called SSA, is the amount of new funding committed by the state to local school districts.

· This increase amounts to $146.7 million more than Fiscal Year 2024, and a total of about $3,814.2 million to School Foundation Aid. It would bring per pupil funding to $7,864 per student, an increase of $229 over FY 2024.

· This number must be agreed upon with the Senate and the Governor, who originally proposed a 2.5% increase. We feel that 3% is the right number to support our public schools.

· This session, we have had many conversations about raising teacher pay. Our current proposal allocates money to raise the minimum teacher pay to $50,000 over two years and increase educational support staff to $15/hour. With this increase in SSA funding, school districts would have additional money to raise veteran teacher salaries how they see fit.

· Some will say Republicans are underfunding public education. But Republicans are responsible for record-high education investments over the last decade. K-12 education funding has increased by almost a billion new dollars over the last 10 years.

Homeschooling in Iowa

Iowa homeschooling families,

PLEASE NOTE:

The Iowa Department of Education has released proposed rule changes that affect you directly!

The changes are being proposed to the Chapter 31 Administrative Rules that implement and interpret the Iowa Code sections governing private instruction, including homeschooling.

These proposed changes are being published in response to Governor Reynolds’ Executive Order 10, which requires state agencies to review their rules and remove “unduly restrictive rule language, remove inflexible rule language, and incorporate statutory language by reference when available.”

Homeschool Iowa’s Advocacy Team is working with Home School Legal Defense Association to carefully review and analyze these proposed changes. We will share our recommendations with you as soon as they are ready.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Homeschool Iowa encourages every homeschooling family in Iowa to:

• read these proposed rules by accessing them here.

• share your concerns and suggestions with our Advocacy Team by emailing advocacy@homeschooliowa.org.

• submit comments to the Department of Education and/or attend a public hearing on the proposed rules.

FEBRUARY 27 is the comment submission deadline and the date for the public hearings.

Please dedicate some time to review the proposed changes and to submit comments. Also, please watch your inbox for Homeschool Iowa’s guide to the rule change proposal, which will be available soon.

Blessings,

The Homeschool Iowa Advocacy Team

advocacy@homeschooliowa.org

Voter ID

Last week the State Government Committee reported out House Study Bill 697, renumbered House File 2610, dealing with elections. The bill makes several changes to complete the security of absentee ballots, ensuring accurate reporting of receipt of ballots, and assist in the timely delivery of absentee ballots to voters who request them.

In 2017 Iowa enacted voter identification requirements. Iowa Code extends this requirement to voters requesting an absentee ballot to provide the same information as a person registering to vote must provide. This can be a voter’s driver’s license number or the voter’s voter identification number. Currently, there is no required identifying information required to return a completed ballot. In order to ensure that the ballot has been completed and returned by the voter who requested the ballot, HF 2610 requires that the voter sign an affidavit envelope and affix their driver’s license number or voter identification number before placing it in a secrecy envelope to return it. Each envelope is affixed with the same serial number to confirm that the absentee ballot was completed and returned by the requester. These requirements are the same information a voter who votes in person must provide in order to cast a ballot.

Another change the bill makes regarding absentee ballots is the requirement that they arrive to the county auditor’s office before 5 pm the Monday before an election and requires the county auditor to report the ballot as received. This change is to provide more accurate information for absentee voters to know if their ballot has arrived in time or not. If enacted, this change allows the voter to know for certain that they have successfully voted absentee or that they will need to go to their polling location the next day. To ensure that this change does not limit the window an absentee voter has to complete and return their ballots, the bill authorizes county auditors to mail absentee ballots two days earlier than current law.

Local Government

This week several pieces of Local Government legislation were passed by the House. House File 2264 is a bill to help connect public dollars to charitable services that benefit local communities provided by religious groups.

Currently, under Iowa law counties and townships are not allowed to directly appropriate public funds to institutions, schools, or associations under ecclesiastical or sectarian management. HF 2079 allows public funds to be given to these groups to be utilized for projects and programs to benefit the public. These programs are meal services, homeless shelters, etc. The bill specifies that the group receiving the funds cannot require participation in religious services, educational programs, or other participation in order to receive the benefit of the program.

This bill is another tool for local governments to further utilize public dollars to help those in their communities who need assistance. House File 2269 is a bill to provide more freedom and control for local governments to set salaries as they see fit for assessors who are filling an unexpired vacancy. The legislation clarifies Iowa Code that when an assessor leaves the position before the term has expired, the local conference board may establish a new salary for the newly appointed assessor. There could be scenarios where the experience and qualifications of the assessor could be significantly different making itappropriate to adjust the salary.

Iowa’s Voting Process

A new video series aimed at educating Iowa voters on the Iowa elections process has been launched!

In the age of mis- and dis-information, it is increasingly important for Iowans to have trusted facts about our elections process. The Office of the Iowa Secretary of State is excited to launch a new educational video series that answers your questions about Iowa’s voting process.

Have you ever wondered how Iowa’s voting process REALLY works? Are you curious about how to register to vote? How to vote absentee? How do votes get tabulated? What happens AFTER the election? This video series will help answer these questions…and more!

Visit VotingProcess.Iowa.Gov for more information.

Agricultural Webinars!

Small Farm and Beginning Farmer Webinars

On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach issued a press release announcing a series of webinars dealing with small farm and beginning farmers and invited interested parties to participate in the Small Farm & Beginning Farmer series, designed exclusively for beginning farmers and small acreage owners. Hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach in Muscatine County, this series is a combination of informative webinars and hands-on, in-person events. It is tailored to provide essential insight and practical advice for those venturing into farming or seeking to enhance their small-scale agricultural operations. Each session, led by industry experts and seasoned professionals, covers critical topics relevant to the challenges and opportunities of small-scale farming.

The series continues through December. Other topics include manure management for small farms, sheep and goat management, orchards and commercial vegetable production, and private well stewardship. Each webinar delves deep into pertinent aspects of farm management

All webinars start at 6 p.m. and are offered through Zoom. Dates and topics are as follows:

· March 7: Small-Scale Poultry Management

· April 11: Manure Management for Small Farms

· May 9: Sheep and Goat Management: Starting Your Flock

· June 13: Maximizing Pasture Potential: Multispecies Grazing Strategies

· Aug. 29: Sheep and Goat Breeding Management: Maximizing Your Flock’s Potential

· Sept. 12: Working with an Ag Lender

· Oct. 10: Private Well Stewardship for Well Owners

· Nov. 14: Small Orchard Management

· Dec. 12: Getting Started in Commercial Vegetable Production

Registration is open to all and is free. Participants can register for each session at– https://go.iastate.edu/FH5MHR

This Week in the House…

In the first week of debates in the House, the following are all the bills that were passed:

HF2190, Search Warrant – Items Seized

HF2490, Mutual Reorganization

HF2464, Firearms Tracking

HF2405, Life Investment Cleanup

HF2404, DHHS Child and Dependent Adult Welfare

HF2265, Insurance Renewal Timeline

HF2328, Campground Septic System Capacity Rating

HF2136, Blood Draw Authorization

HF2098, Protective Order Violation – Assault

HF2248, Statute of Limitations – Robbery

HF2153, College Student Aid Reporting Requirements

HF2264, Public Funds to Religious Groups for Public Benefit

HF2269, Assessor Salary for Partial Terms

HF2101, Water Utilities

HF2100, Reinsurance for Mutuals

HF2394, Real Estate Wholesalers

HF2237, ATV Operations on State Park Road System

HF2260, Performing Rights Societies

HF2262, Money Transmission Cleanup

HF2400, Dental Contacts

HF2305, Child Care Flexibility

HF2249, Free Under 16 Fur License

HF2390, DIAL

HF591, Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact

HF2421, Voluntarily Holding Firearms

HF2326, Real Estate Broker and Rentals

HF2316, Removing Barriers to Low-Value Vehicle Titling

HF2446, Military Service Filing Fee Waiver

HF2325, Inspections of Tobacco Retailers

HF2306, Vet Commission Members

HF2266, Non-Bank Mortgage Lenders

HF2277, Wholesaler E-Commerce Platforms

HF2392, Mortgage Administration

HF2485, HOAs on Public Lakes

HF2489, Breast Imaging

HF2099, PBM Bill from IID

HF2263, Insurance Division

HF2175, Cell Siting Act

HF2276, Zoning for Maternity Homes

HF2397, Access Center Transport

HF2364, State Park Accessibility Recommendations

HF2185, Protecting Sensitive Information on Motor Vehicle Titles

HF2167, Disaster Aid

HF2187, Streamlining Road Use Tax Fund Reporting Requirements

HF2402, PMICs

HF2613, Supplemental State Aid

HF2186, Right of Way Streamlining

HF2271, Parent Access to Minor Health Care Records

HF2512, Social Work Compact

HF2152, Removal of Report

HF2307, Driver’s License Information on DOT Database

HF2388, Prohibition of Building Material Restrictions

HF2507, EMS Physician Exception

HF2515, LMFTs/LMHCs/Social Workers – Direct Supervision and Licensure by Endorsement

HF2451, Road Construction Project Standards

HF2539, Open Meetings Training and Enforcement

HF2232, Interpreter and Transliterator Licensure of Employers