Vouchers, vouchers, and more

Jan. 23 edition of "Capitol Week" is online

Jan 24, 2023

It was a late night at the Iowa capitol and a later night in my home newsroom as state House and Senate Republicans approved Governor Kim Reynolds’ top legislative priority: an unlimited entitlement for Iowans who send their kids to private schools.

When Dennis Hart and I went on the air for “Capitol Week” at 7:00 pm on Monday, the House debate had hours to go, and the Senate debate hadn’t begun. After midnight, I pulled together a Bleeding Heartland post about the twelve GOP lawmakers who defied the governor and their own party leaders. How long have the served in the legislature? Which counties do they represent? Are there private schools in their districts? Did they face competition in the 2022 primary? What do they stand to lose in terms of committee assignments?

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On to the January 23 “Capitol Week”:

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Topics Dennis Hart and I covered:

The horrific shooting that killed two students and injured Will Keeps at the Starts Right Here mentorship program in Des Moines. I shared information about free resources for Iowans grieving or feeling anxiety about this event or any trauma: 211 Iowa and Everystep.org;
The state of play in the Iowa House and Senate over the voucher bill;
Governor Kim Reynolds was so confident that her office booked the state capitol rotunda for a bill signing at 11 am on Tuesday;
Speculation about how many Republicans would vote against the bill (it turned out to be nine in the House and three in the Senate);
State Auditor Rob Sand’s statement: “I am alarmed by the intentional lack of transparency and accountability” in the voucher bill (you can read the whole statement here);
The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency’s fiscal note on the voucher bill, which was published Monday morning (you can read it here);
House leaders changed the rules to put the bill on a fast track, and Senate Republicans approved a manager’s amendment that prevented any additional amendments from being debated; five House Republicans voted against the rule change;
Last week’s public hearing in the Iowa House on the voucher bill; if you missed it, you can watch the video here;
Other steps in the fast-tracked legislative process (House and Senate committees approved the voucher plan on Wednesday and Thursday, making it eligible for debate this week);
Governor Reynolds’ open letter to Iowans making the case for her bill (you can read it here);
The key provisions of the voucher bill (I covered those here);
Speculation about whether new private schools may open in Iowa once the bill is fully in effect;
Bruce Rastetter’s message urging Iowa lawmakers to approve the governor’s “historic” school choice plan (I had more to say about this at Bleeding Heartland);
The Iowa Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in a case challenging the 2019 law designed to prevent transgender Iowans from receiving gender-affirming surgery through Medicaid;
Non-voucher legislative news: a third attempt by the Iowa House to ban the “gay or trans panic” defense in criminal cases;
A House bill that would severely restrict federal food assistance benefits for Iowans (the Iowa Hunger Coalition posted a good summary of this bill, which has generated lots of state and some national media coverage);
State Representative Steve Holt’s bill designed to address teachers who supposedly are promoting “socialism”;
Last week’s Iowa Senate subcommittee hearing on Senator Jason Schultz’s bill that would repeal the gender balance requirement for boards and commissions;
Bills introduced that would limit carbon dioxide pipelines;
The latest effort to restrict cell phone use while driving;
An Iowa Senate bill that would undermine enforcement of federal regulations related to COVID-19;
The federal government’s proposed new approach for COVID-19 vaccinations, making them more like a flu shot;
The latest coronavirus statistics for Iowa;
One last bit of legislative news: State Senator Brad Zaun’s bill that would make local elections partisan;
Trends related to common first names among Iowa House and Senate members. I wrote about this earlier in the month in my posts titled “Who’s who in the Iowa House for 2023” and “Who’s who in the Iowa Senate for 2023.”

Final note: The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative is holding our monthly Zoom call for paying subscribers this Friday, January 27, from noon to 1 pm. To receive the sign-in link, you don’t need to pay for my Substack. You just need to be a paying subscriber to any of the following newsletters: