Last week’s legislative schedule got cut short due to weather, but there was still debate, several subcommittee meetings on bills and the introduction of many of the Governor’s initiatives, including her housing bill, justice reform package and tax proposal. As we begin week five, the Legislature is positioned to take up childcare bills in the House, K-12 education funding in both subcommittee and full committee in both chambers, and continue working on broadband, housing and many other issues.
There have now been 1,039 bills and resolutions introduced. Legislators still have another five working days to sponsor bills, so the numbers will keep adding up for another few weeks as we head toward the first legislative "funnel" deadline March 5th.
A number of broadband policy bills will likely make their way through the legislative process this session. The biggest proposal, however, is SSB 1089 (Link) and HSB 133. The Governor’s proposal includes adding $450 million of funding (over three years) to move the needle like never before on this issue.
The final report from the Governor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Council was released on Thursday, February 4th, and is available for review HERE. The initial recommendations were released as 18 bullet points back in October, but the final report goes much more in-depth into the discussions and recommendations made by the over 350 working group and subgroup members involved in the effort. A number of the proposals outlined in this report – broadband, housing, childcare and others – are already in legislative form and advancing at the Capitol. More will likely be drafted soon.
While a number of the big issues this year each tend to be focused in one or two major bills, the Iowa House is handling the childcare issue by letting members move lots of different ideas over to the Senate for their consideration. The House has worked through eight childcare bills that are currently eligible for floor debate and the House’s Debate Calendar for Monday, February 8th, includes no less than SIX childcare bills.
To view a list of bills being monitored by our industry association Professional Developers of Iowa, follow the Billtracker Tool