Rozenboom Report For January 19th, 2024
The Session Begins
The 2024 legislative session kicked into high gear on Monday, January 8 with the normal first week formalities. On Monday Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver and Senate President Amy Sinclair, along with Minority Leader Pam Jochum, outlined the legislative priorities of their respective parties.
Of course, the highlight of the week was Governor Kim Reynold’s seventh Condition of the State address on Tuesday evening. We also heard from the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, Major General Stephen Osborn, and Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court Susan Christensen.
As a reminder to constituents, my committee assignments remain the same as before, with the chairmanship of the Senate Education committee as my primary responsibility. I also remain on the Transportation, Agriculture, and the Natural Resources and Environment committees.
How is Iowa Doing?
When I first ran for the Senate in 2012 my commitment to constituents was to help put Iowa in a better place than before. With that in mind perhaps a comparison of Iowa with other states is in order. Of course Iowa remains as one of the nation’s premier agricultural states with our grain and livestock production, but we also rank very high in other significant quality-of-life areas. Consider Iowa’s rankings relative to other states:
#1 state in which to retire
#1 in fiscal responsibility
#1 for millennial homeowners
#2 best health care system
#3 state for opportunity
#4 for education choice
#6 most affordable state
#6 for labor participation
#7 best state overall
We begin this legislative year with the state in excellent financial condition with our statutorily required emergency funds full (Cash Reserve fund at $720.9 million and the Economic Emergency fund at $240.3 million). The Revenue Estimating Conference is projecting a 2024 fiscal year ending balance of $2.114 billion, and the Taxpayer Relief Fund carries a balance of $4.626 billion. Perhaps we can speed up the original goal of 4.9% flat income tax by 2026.
Other Good News
The first day of the session greeted us with some other great news. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals announced their decision that the agricultural trespass laws the legislature passed in 2019 and 2021 were constitutional and could be enforced in Iowa. (The news media loves to call these the “ag-gag” laws, which is a lazy and dishonest characterization intended to discredit the laws.)
As many Iowans know, radical anti-agriculture activists, typically from left wing enclaves like San Francisco and Portland, work constantly to undermine production agriculture. These extremists invade Iowa, gain access to Iowa farms in deceptive ways, and try to create false narratives about Iowa farmers.
These actions are a threat to Iowa farmers and to the Iowa economy in a number of ways. Trespassing on Iowa farms carries the risk of spreading infectious diseases from farm to farm because these extremists care nothing about disease prevention. Damage to reputations, buildings, machinery, and other property also frequently occurs during these invasions and is often the very goal of these intrusions on farmers.
Previously we’ve witnessed activist judges ruling that similar versions of these common-sense laws prohibiting trespass and surreptitious surveillance violated the First Amendment rights of the extremists. The Iowa Legislature responded with new laws in both 2019 and 2021 to address the issues raised by the court and still protect Iowans from the intrusions that were illegal and could successfully be prosecuted by law enforcement.
Agriculture is the backbone and lifeblood of Iowa’s economy. It is part of our heritage, our culture, and our shared identity. The successful legal defense of Iowa laws prohibiting radical anti-agriculture extremists from invading farms, disrupting production, and threatening our way of life is vital to continued success of the industry. Iowa family farmers and those involved in production agriculture can celebrate a big win last week in the defense of their property and livelihoods.
Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs)
Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) have been in the news a lot as we begin the 2024 session. One of the governor’s (and my) priorities this year is a comprehensive review and possible overhaul of the AEA structure and governance. The AEAs were created in 1974 primarily to serve the educational needs of students with disabilities, and have served Iowa well. But, as is the case with most institutions, corrections have to be made occasionally, and that conversation has begun in earnest this year.
As the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, over the last 6 months I’ve had dozens of conversations with school superintendents, AEA personnel, teachers and parents and others impacted by the performance of our AEA system. I’ve also had the opportunity to have extended conversations with Gov. Reynolds, her staff and the Director of the Dept. of Education McKenzie Snow about these potential changes. I am generally supportive of proposed changes to the system; I am committed to listening carefully to all sides, and to being informed and thoughtful as we consider these changes. The goal is to serve our students well, and to do so effectively and efficiently. I will go into much greater detail of these discussions as we move forward.
