AEA drama intensifies and other news from the statehouse

March 25 "Capitol Week" is online

GOP State Rep. Skyler Wheeler floor manages the latest version of a bill on Area Education Agencies on March 21 (photo by Laura Belin)

A few quick programming notes: I will be in Sioux City on March 26 to speak at the Siouxland Progressive Women Luncheon, and in late April I am scheduled for a meeting of the League of Women Voters in the Des Moines metro. After the legislature adjourns for the year, I should have more flexibility for this kind of event. So please reach out if you know of a community organization that would welcome a guest speaker about Iowa politics. I always leave plenty of time for Q&A.

The last Friday of the month is coming up on March 29, which means we will hold another Iowa Writers Collaborative “Office Lounge” Zoom meeting from noon to 1:00 pm Central time. These are informal conversations open to anyone who is a paying subscriber to any of our columnists.

If you have donated through Substack to support my work, you can scroll down to find the Zoom link at the bottom of this message, below the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative roster. If you have donated in some other way (credit card, Venmo, PayPal, personal check), let me know and I will email the Zoom link directly to you.

Finally, if you like listening to our radio show but don’t always have time to read these emails, please subscribe to “KHOI’s Capitol Week” on your favorite podcast platform.

On to the program! To sample our back catalog, KHOI’s website has the full “Capitol Week” archive going back to February 2021.

Here’s the audio from our March 25 show.

Topics Dennis Hart and I covered this week:

• Although we usually move things along quickly, we spent almost a third of the show on the controversy no one saw coming: the battle over Iowa’s Area Education Agencies. I covered last week’s Iowa House debate in more depth at Bleeding Heartland, where I also published material by subject matter experts (a group of superintendents and former Iowa Department of Education deputy director David Tilly);

• The Senate version of House File 2612 was much closer to what Governor Kim Reynolds wanted than the House amendment approved last Thursday. I tried to explain the differences concisely;

• Six GOP senators and nine GOP representatives voted against the AEA bills, which is an unusual level of opposition within the majority party. There was no clear ideological split; the votes against the bill came from some of the most conservative legislators as well as some considered more moderate;

• Why have more superintendents spoken against the AEA changes than in favor of the governor’s approach? Many rightly fear that if some larger or wealthier school districts opt out of purchasing services through the AEA, the economy of scale won’t be there to provide the services smaller school districts need;

• We briefly discussed the concept of a “bouncing bill.” If and when the Senate takes up the AEA bill again (it’s on the tentative debate calendar for March 26), they won’t be able to amend the legislation like they did last week. It can only be voted up or down. That’s problematic since the amendment House Republicans rushed to pass last week may have had some drafting errors;

• Assuming Senate Republicans approve House File 2612, Governor Reynolds will almost certainly sign it. But I wanted to flag the possibility that she could veto one or more provisions. The latest House amendment includes $14 million to raise pay for para-educators. That’s very important to House Republicans. Iowa’s governor does have item veto power for appropriations bills. So Reynolds could reject that funding piece or any of the policy provisions related to AEAs;

• Many legislators have commented on the avalanche of messages they’ve received from Iowans who are pleading with them not to blow up the AEA system. Why so much public interest? The AEAs serve tens of thousands of kids, and offer services beyond what you might think of as special education;

• Moving to other legislative action: the Iowa House amended a child care bill (House File 319) on Monday to include language approved earlier in the year, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to watch kids under 5 without supervision in some situations. The original bill didn’t make it through the second funnel;

• Last Tuesday, the House pulled an immigration bill off the “unfinished business” calendar and gave final approval to Senate File 2340. Modeled after a Texas law that is now being challenged in federal court, this bill would create a new crime of illegal entry to Iowa. It’s likely unconstitutional and has all kinds of practical problems I didn’t have time to get into during the show. (How would Iowa law enforcement escort someone convicted of this crime out of the country?) Reynolds is expected to sign the bill soon, and I anticipate a federal lawsuit will follow in short order;

• The House Ways and Means Committee unanimously advanced an eminent domain bill last week. House File 2522 would let landowners go to court earlier to challenge whether a pipeline project qualifies for eminent domain. I see no indication that Iowa Senate Republicans are willing to consider this proposal;

• A House Ways and Means subcommittee advanced a new approach to regulating traffic cameras. House Study Bill 740 would not be a blanket ban. Local governments could ask the Iowa Department of Transportation to let them install traffic cameras in specific locations. They would need to produce data showing a genuine safety need;

• The House Appropriations Committee advanced one of the governor’s legislative priorities: a bill to restructure mental health and behavioral health services. Because the committee amended this bill, it was renumbered House File 2673;

• A House subcommittee advanced a policing bill last week that would affect state university law enforcement. Brooklyn Draisey reported on the key provisions of House Study Bill 738;

• Leaders in both chambers moved dozens more bills to the “unfinished business” calendar last week. Most of those will not become law, but any of them could be brought to the House or Senate floor at any time;

• On March 25, the Senate approved the House version of Senate File 455, which would limit local governments’ ability to regulate stormwater and topsoil. House leaders needed two attempts to get a majority vote for the bill, and three Senate Republicans voted no on Monday;

• With only one dissenting vote, the Senate approved a bill changing the funding formula for community colleges. Kathie Obradovich covered the debate on Senate File 2405;

• An Iowa Senate subcommittee advanced a bill that “would delay a requirement until 2030 for gas stations to install fuel dispensers that are compatible with the highest ethanol fuel blends”;

• The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a bill (now renumbered Senate File 2411) that would divert some unemployment funds to a new workforce program;

• A bill to shield pesticide manufacturers from lawsuits came back from the dead last week in the Senate Appropriations Committee, even though Senate File 2412 isn’t a spending bill. It’s a good example of the limits of Iowa’s “funnel” rules;

• We touched on more findings from the latest Iowa Poll by Selzer & Co for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom, on approval ratings for Iowa’s statewide elected officials, U.S. senators, and generic ballot numbers for each of the four U.S. House districts;

• The Biden administration continues to forgive student loan debt under existing federal programs. The latest move will affect an estimated 9,000 Iowans;

• Congress approved another spending package on Friday, averting a federal government shutdown. All of the Iowans voted for the deal except for Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04), who didn’t publicly explain his decision;

• We closed out with some news about earmarks secured by U.S. Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), and Zach Nunn (IA-03). I’ll write more about this soon at Bleeding Heartland.

Thanks for reading or listening! Dennis and I appreciate you.

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