Fifty community leaders participated in a virtual “Marion Legislative Day” on February 2^nd. Marion Economic Development Corporation organized the event in partnership with the City of Marion, Marion Chamber of Commerce, Linn-Mar, and Marion Independent Schools. Staff, board members, and council members from each organization had the opportunity to share legislative priorities while getting updates from our state leaders as the legislature begins week four of the 2021 session.

Legislative participants included Senator Liz Mathis, Senator Dan Zumbach, Representative Molly Donahue, and Representative Eric Gjerde. Topics of discussion ranged from controversial school choice legislation to new housing and economic development tools working their way through the statehouse. Already in the session more than 800 bills have been filed. The majority of these bills will die by the first funnel on February 12^th, allowing a sharper focus on policy and the state budget.

Marion Economic Development continues to track and support pro-growth policies that support economic recovery & mitigation, workforce recruitment & retention, infrastructure investment, fair & responsible tax reform, and the right tools to support development and business growth. Through our association partner Professional Developers of Iowa, you can follow bills that we are tracking throughout the session. Just go to https://www.ialobby.com/billtracker/pdi.

Linn County is fortunate to have legislators who are very accessible and responsive. Please contact MEDCO President Nick Glew if there is a particular topic that we can help you advocate in Des Moines. Each of our legislators can be contacted directly via the links below: