The Dickey Dispatch – March 15th, 2024
by Senator Adrian Dickey
With the close of this week, the second funnel deadline has passed. With that behind us, we now focus our attention on bills which have passed through the House to the Senate and Senate bills that are debate eligible.
This week, I moved HF 2579 through the Transportation Committee. This bill allows EMS and volunteer fire fighter personnel to have personalized first responder license plates. While this legislation certainly is not anything major, it’s a small request that these volunteer groups have asked for over the years. As a volunteer firefighter for the past 32 years (and the only volunteer firefighter serving in the Capitol), it is a GREAT honor being the voice in the capitol of these first responders who sacrifice so much to serve their communities.
One bill I would expect we will be debating soon is House File 2576. This bill creates a first-degree murder charge for delivery of fentanyl to another person if that delivery results in the death of the other person. We have a taken a number of measures recently to try to address the rise of fentanyl deaths happening all across the country and doing what we can in our state. As a consequence of the emergency at the border, this crisis has devastated families all over the state. House File 2576 is one more step we can take to try to curb the devastation and help Iowans avoid the loss of a loved one.
In last week’s newsletter, I highlighted progress we are making this legislative session to implement constitutional protections for the taxpayers (SSB 3142). Over the past several years, Iowa has proven itself to be a leader among conservative states because of the progress we have attained through income tax reductions.
Largely as a result of these conservative Republican policies, this past week Iowa was rated as the best state in the nation for retirees. In 2022, we passed a massive income tax relief bill. This bill put into place a 3.9 percent flat tax for all Iowans which is set to fully take effect in 2026, and it eliminated the tax on retirement income. Iowa is also rated as the state with the lowest housing costs and is one of the best states to raise a family in. Iowa has accomplished these policy wins because we have constituents who are devoted to freedom and want less government.
