Update From the House for District 80 – April 12, 2021

by Holly Brink

Week 13 Update

Hello Friends,

Apologies for the delay in the newsletter, the day I normally work on the newsletter, Thursday, was an eventful day at the capitol and I wanted to include information from the virtual Ames forum.

Beyond the eventful Thursday, it was a great and productive week at the Statehouse. The end of the session is approaching quickly and I will do my best to keep you all informed about which bills will become law this year and which ones will have to try again next year.
SF 517

Last Wednesday I had the privilege of floor managing SF517 which was introduced by Oskaloosa High School Senior, Holly Boeke, a constituent of mine, and currently a Senate Page. I love to see our youth get involved and make a difference.

The bill allows being a page in the State Legislature to count as a semester of social studies credit towards graduation and waives the PE requirement for the semester that the student is a page. Before this bill students would almost have to prepare their schedules starting as a freshman or they may have have to stay an extra semester. This change makes being a page more accessible and open, if you would like to be a page please reach out to me!

Thank you to Holly and all of the help from the other pages. Speaker Grassley said it best after the passage of the bill when he commented that the Holly and the other pages may be more effective at getting legislation passed than some lobbyists!

Parent Response to Activism in Schools

Late last week I participated in a livestream hosted by 2018 State Treasurer candidate Jeremy Davis who was previously a member of Ames City Council. We talked to Ames residents about what is happening in their school district and what parents can do to stand up to it.

I encouraged Ames parents to report complains with evidence to the Iowa Department of Education and the Board of Education Examiners. If you or anyone you know has questions about this process let me know and I would be happy to get you more information.

Beyond the complaint driven approach, it is vital to be involved in your school. Even as a member of the school board. The sad part is that the reason this activist material got so far is that the activists mobilized and embedded themselves in districts across the state. It will take local organizing by parents focused on education, to ensure the quality education of their kids.

Budget Overview

Both the House and Senate have announced their preliminary budgets for the next fiscal year. Highlights in the House proposal include a $9.4 million dollar increase to the Department of Public Safety. This investment would update our correctional system and ensure that our police officers have the most up to date equipment to keep them safe. The House proposal does not include any new money for our Regent institutions. If there are any questions about specific items, please reach out.

Now the House and Senate will negotiate to come up with one complete budget for the state in the coming weeks.

The weather is getting warmer and that means that we are inching closer to a conclusion this year. Please pray for wisdom for the whole legislature in what is likely the final month of the session.

As always I enjoy hearing from you! My contact information is below.

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

Posted by on Apr 12 2021. Filed under Local News, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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