Holly Brink Update From the House for District 80 – April 5, 2019

Holly Brink (District 80) signs her Oath of Office on Monday, January 14, 2019.

by Rep. Holly Brink

Hello Friends,

One of the perks of being a state legislator is the visitors that come to greet you in the Capitol building. Over the course of this week I have been visited by one of our areas schools and a special guest from the nation of Israel. As I had the pleasure to visit with our district’s youth and visiting foreign dignitaries, I have been working with my colleagues on several policies that focus on building a foundation for the future.

First, I want to thank the kids from Oskaloosa Christian and Eddyville Elementary for coming to the House. It was a pleasure to meet with these kids and their teachers to talk about what has been happening during this current session. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet with Eddyville due to debate but I hope they enjoyed themselves at the Capitol. I’m glad to see that children from our district have shown an early interest in our state government and I encourage them to keep informed and active in their communities. I appreciate your time and I hope to see you all again soon!

Wednesday, the Iowa House had the honor to have the current Ambassador of Israel to the United States, Ron Dermer, speak before the Iowa House. Ambassador Dermer was accompanied by Aviv Ezra, the Israeli Consul General in the Midwest. During his speech, Ambassador Dermer reflected the ongoing history of our special relationship with Israel and the importance of our continued partnership on a national level. While he emphasized our joint foreign missions, he also made a point to address the opportunities that an international partnership can benefit the State of Iowa through business and technological service development. It was a fantastic opportunity and thankful for both the Ambassador and Consul General for their time on the floor.

While it has been joy to meet with so many great individuals, it has been a busy week as we have hit our second funnel week. With the second funnel, much of our focus has been on funding and where we believe it should be invested in order to adequately lay a foundation that promotes growth. There are three bills from this week that I believe are vital to laying a foundation for the future: HF 758, HF 592, and HSB 252.

In order for Iowa to be best prepared for the future we need to both provide equal opportunities and adequate funding to grow the state as a whole. With the passage of House File 758, we accomplish this. The bill, when enacted, will lay out the education budget, funding for educational disabilities programs, funding for children’s mental health programs, and providing allocations for higher education financial assistance. It is a bill that addresses a great amount of need in our state by providing the resources that our educators and students need to succeed in their academic and professional pursuits.

House File 592 is the successor of my own bill, House File 184. Originally we planned on having its subcommittee this week, however due to some conflict will be having it next week. Though we have postponed the subcommittee, I had the pleasure of having Jil Nelson, Principal of Eddyville Elementary, come to the House to meet with my colleagues, the educational lobby, and myself to discuss the impacts of the bill and the benefits it could provide our state’s youth. I appreciate all the work that has been put into this piece of legislation and all of the support it has received. I look forward to this next week’s meeting and where the bill will go from there.

Finally, House File 252 proposes the establishment of a rural economic revitalization initiative that would direct a percentage of tax incentives to small cities for projects. In order for Iowa to make the most of our unique position, we need to make smart investments in our rural communities so growth can be distributed throughout the state rather than concentrated in only a few cities. To assess the projects and communities requesting tax incentives, there will be the establishment of a rural economic revitalization center to review and assign tax incentives where there is need. I am greatly appreciative of what this bill seeks to accomplish while also incredibly honored to be working with my committee to set this bill into motion.

All in all, it has been both a fantastic and busy week. Coming through the second funnel week, we begin to tackle some of the bigger bills which we have been working on since the beginning of the session. I am thrilled about the next few weeks and looking forward to seeing you at the legislative forum this Saturday.

Again, it’s an honor to be serving as your representative in the Iowa House. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Holly Brink
State Representative, Iowa District 80
(641)295-7111
Holly.brink@legis.iowa.gov