The Rozenboom Report – January 14, 2022

by Senator Ken Rozenboom

The 2022 legislative session has officially begun. This first week includes speeches by the Governor, the Chief Justice, the Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard and legislative leaders. These speeches are important components of the legislative session, and they give us a preview of the goals of each caucus and each branch of government. This week we also had introductory committee meetings to set the stage for the coming weeks. Legislators will have many bills and issues to consider over the next few months so, as we work through them, please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.

On Monday Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver presented his vision of this new legislative session. He discussed a number of the issues we have heard about over the last several months such as lowering taxes, growing Iowa’s workforce, and making Iowa one of the best states in which to live. One of the things Senator Whitver said in his speech is:

“Recently, Iowa was rated as one of the best states for opportunity. We were named the state in the strongest position to withstand the Covid pandemic and we were also named the fastest state to recover from it. After 5 years of a Republican trifecta, Iowa’s success is no longer subjective – it’s objective.”

We know the policies that have been developed over the last several years are good for Iowans. We’ve seen successes from those policies, and we want to continue building on those successes. It is no secret that Republicans in the legislature are dedicated to tax relief this legislative session, and Senate Republicans do not want to waste the opportunity we have for permanent, meaningful tax relief. This was even more apparent after watching Governor Kim Reynolds give her Condition of the State address on Tuesday. The governor also talked about tax relief and workforce, and many of the ways we can address these issues such as licensing reform, unemployment reform, and cutting tax rates to make Iowa more attractive and competitive with neighboring states.

Governor Reynolds’ speech was memorable for many reasons, but a few lines stood out:

“But in the small towns, around kitchen tables, in the fields and back-offices, Iowans understand that we in this building don’t fund anything. They do. And right now, they’re paying too much. Last year, the state ended with a $1.2 billion surplus, on top of nearly $1 billion cash reserves. That’s good. We kept spending down. But it also means that, despite the historic 2018 tax cuts, we’re still taking too much from Iowans’ paychecks. That needs to stop. Now.”

Senate Republicans have a long record of keeping our promises on issues like reliable education funding, responsible budgets, mental health improvements, and tax relief. We look forward to supporting the governor again this year to deliver on our commitment to effective and efficient state government.

My personal focus will be on the “big ticket” issues that are in front of us every year, of course, but I will continue my efforts on a few matters that are perhaps of lesser importance, but still impact Iowans and my district. Last year I introduced a bill to update what we all know as the “bottle bill”. This remains a popular concept in Iowa but everyone knows that there are serious flaws that must be addressed. In my ten years in the Senate I’ve seen a wide variety of proposed improvements, all of which failed to gain much support because, in my view, they failed to address the fundamental issues that block meaningful change. I believe that my bill removes those roadblocks, and I am optimistic that we can finally make some progress. I will provide more details on this matter in the weeks ahead, but in the meantime please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns about Iowa’s bottle bill.

I also started work last year on a deer population control bill in an effort to reduce the very high deer population in some counties in Iowa, especially some counties in my district. Because of Iowa’s reputation for excellent whitetail deer hunting this can become somewhat controversial, but I believe that we can maintain excellent hunting opportunities, while at the same time limit the environmental and economic damage caused by over-population of deer. This bill passed out of the Senate last year but was not taken up in the House. However, there is a lot of interest by many House members so perhaps we can finish this policy during the 2022 session.

It’s an exciting time to be in the Iowa Senate and deliver on the promises made to Iowans. I look forward to keeping you updated as our work progresses. And I’m excited that we can again hold our public forums in-person. Our first forum will be at 8:30 am on Saturday, January 22 at Smokey Row in Oskaloosa. Maybe I’ll see you there.