Oskaloosa Eggs and Issues January 22, 2011

Eggs and Issues at Smokey Row January 22, 2011

Saturdays guests to Eggs and Issues was State Senator Tom Rielly (D) of Oskaloosa, State Senator Paul McKinley (R) of Chariton and State Representative Guy Vander Linden (R) of Oskaloosa for House District 75.

Senator Tom Rielly was the first of the legislators to give his statement. Tom made mention of the many new faces in the Iowa Legislature this year, and welcomed new comer Guy Vander Linden to the Iowa House. Rielly also mentioned Oskaloosa Native Chip Baltimore on his winning election to the Iowa House for the district covering Boone.

Rielly said he believes that this years session will go better than people are giving them credit for. He stated he remains optimistic for this year, and the future of Iowa. One of the reasons for his optimism is that, for the first time since he has been in office, a governor, in an impromptu way, came onto the senate floor. Tom said, ” Governor Branstad and my friend Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, and former colleague and friends, they actually came onto the senate floor and shook our hands. Signaling campaign is over, it’s time to get to work.”

Iowa Senator Tom Rielly talks about issues facing Iowa during a recent Eggs and Issues at Smokey Row

Rielly said he’s also optimistic about Iowa’s economic outlook, stating 14 months of straight growth, Iowa’s AAA bond rating, and that land values were up. He stated he believed that by July, cash reserves would be 600 million. He stated that Senate Democrat priorities are to balance the budget, create and environment for job creation, maintain universal preschool systems, as well as study the K-12, community colleges and higher education.

Personally, Rielly said he is going to continue to push for increased funding for roads and bridges. “They’re not getting any better, they’re just getting worse.” stated Rielly. He stated that he thought this year they might vote for a gas tax increase. He stated that with just a 10 cent increase in the gas tax, it would generate about 220 million dollars in additional revenue for the state. Rielly stated that it would cost the average Iowan about $65 dollars a year extra, with a portion of that being paid for from those outside of the state of Iowa.

Iowa Senator McKinley visits with those in attendance at Smokey Row, January 22, 2011

Rielly also went on to talk about how Iowa may need to adjust how it does business. He stated that the legislature goes into the next session with structured deficits. “You don’t do it in your own personal lives, we shouldn’t do it in your government.” stated Rielly on how the state is currently doing business.

Senator McKinley stated that he is optimistic as well, “I think there’s a lot of reason for that optimism. Last November the voters spoke and they spoke pretty loudly. Government is headed in the wrong direction. It’s too big, it’s to out of touch, it’s increasing out of control and spending to much money. We all said we want to have our government back, and I think that is precisely what is beginning to happen.”

McKinley stated various reasons why he is optimistic that businesses are looking at Iowa to return to. “You might not be aware of it, but in 2009 Iowa lost 23,000 manufacturing jobs.” Mckinley said, “The report just came out about 2 weeks ago. Iowa is only one of 5 or 6 states in the nation that actually saw an out migration of people. We had an actual population loss.” “Job creation climate is absolutely critical and I’m glad that Senator Rielly is working on that. I think he’s always been a good advocate for creating more jobs. But there is a lot more we need to do.” McKinley continued.

McKinley went on to explain how rules and regulations by various departments within the Iowa Government are slowing progress with employers who would bring jobs to Iowa. He used an example of a larger employer in the area that has been waiting for a water discharge permit from the Iowa DNR since 2005. “We can’t afford to have activists, who have been planted in these varied bureaucracies, to continue to do this. It will take quite a while to begin to weed these folks out and start putting new and reasonable rules and regulations into force.” McKinley said of various Iowa agencies, that he believes are slowing job growth in the state.

McKinley then touched upon states using one time money to fund ongoing expenses, and then not being able to fund those programs in the following years. “We’ve seen where that goes unchecked, where  it will lead. Look at Illinois, look at California, look at New Jersey, look at New York.”  “There was an article in the New York Times yesterday, or the day before, that there is serious consideration creating ways for states to go bankrupt. Now if that happens we will have a disaster on our hands, and that’s something we must avoid. We as a state are going to have to make some hard choices. There’s going to have to be share sacrifice on the part of lots of people, but we can’t go down that path where we’re spending more, continuously, than we’re taking in.”

Representative Guy Vander Linden discusses recent events at the Iowa State House with those at Smokey Row January 22, 2011

Representative Guy Vander Linden then took the mic for his speech before a fairly full Smokey Row. “It’s been quite a couple of weeks for me. I feel a little like I’m back at boot camp, and I learned there that the best thing to do was keep my ears open and my mouth shut. So I’m trying to do that as much as possible.”

“This past week we did get down to doing some business, and the House passed what we call the Taxpayer First Act.” Vander Linden stated of some of the first legislative work done for Iowa in 2011.

He went on to say, “For those not familiar with the bill, officially known as House File 45, I will give some rough overview of the bill. The bill passed the House down party lines.”:

• Ending university sabbaticals for 18 months
• A 10 million dollar cut at the three Regent universities
• an amendment limiting any increase in tuition, fees and other charges at higher education
• It looks to trim the states budget by 500 million over three years

Vander Linden said that it certainly won’t survive the Senate in the form that it left the House. He says the bill saves 500 million dollars over 3 years across all funds. “It was painful to get to the 500 million.” Vander Linden said. “There’s a lot of things that got cut out that are worthy programs. I campaigned saying that it’s going to be painful. We’re going to cut state spending.” Vander Linden continued.

Vander Linden closed by saying, “I’m hopeful that, as we go through the session, we’ll be able to cooperate between bodies, between the parties. If so, I think we’ll be able to do some good things for the State of Iowa.”

I will continue this tomorrow with the questions and the replies to those questions tomorrow.